States are currently in the process of establishing health insurance exchanges for individuals and employer groups under 50 lives that are mandated to take effect in 2014 by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. And although each state is free to develop its own method of implementation, they don’t have to develop their own automation platforms. Proven technology exists to enable state governments to offer highly innovative and sustainable exchanges, and several private exchanges are bidding for the exchange business.

CHOICE Administrators

In California, an existing small-group exchange, CaliforniaChoice, serves more than 10,000 employers and 150,000 members. CHOICE Administrators is part of The Word & Brown Companies, a general agent and third party administrator. CHOICE Administrators is aligning itself to bid for the administration of state exchanges in 2014.

MAXIMUS and Connecture

MAXIMUS, a leading provider of government services worldwide, and Connecture, a leader in Web-based marketplaces and administration solutions for health insurance distribution, have announced recently that the two companies have entered into a strategic alliance. This alliance will deliver a comprehensive government Health Insurance Exchange solution blending the expertise in eligibility and enrollment for state Medicaid and CHIP programs provided by MAXIMUS with Connecture’s established Web-based health insurance shopping, enrollment and administration solution.

Aon Hewitt

Aon Hewitt announced recently that it is launching the an exchange for employer groups of 1,000 or more full-time employees beginning as early as January 2012. The Aon Hewitt exchange structure intentionally mirrors the ACA model. The firm will offer five standardized designs: bronze, bronze plus, silver, gold and platinum. It’s designed for an employer that wants to continue to provide coverage but wants to do it in an exchange environment which offers less administrative burden for the employer and more choice to the employee,