The concept of Health Insurance Exchanges

As the health care overhaul is on its high in the US, one of the new concepts being considered is the introduction of health care exchanges which is supposed to work on the lines of providing a on-stop-solution for all insurance and insurance-related issues. If the health care exchanges are rightly executed, it is expected to hugely transform the way the whole insurance industry sector operates. It may also give a huge boost to the purchasing power of the customers. This would be a blessing to small businesses, which is trying to cope up with the rising health care costs and scooting for affordable health insurance in the market. The insurance exchange is also expected to standardize benefits offered by various insurance policies and create huge competition among the various providers for the benefit of consumers. People of the lower income strata could benefit further by state subsidies. In addition, the exchange also aids in group purchasing of policies and hence the possibility of coverage for individuals would drastically increaseHowever, if they are poorly introduced and established in the market, it is expected to further increase the costs of purchasing insurance policies and force many employers to drop out of the coverage as they may not be able to afford such huge expenses.