California gets green light for health exchange

California has gotten the okay to run its own health exchange, an insurance marketplace that will satisfy the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. California, the first state to authorize an insurance exchange, was one of seven states that were granted conditional approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today. AP reports:

The California Health Benefit Exchange board, which now goes by Covered California, submitted its operational plan last month to expand coverage by at least 2 million. The California HealthCare Foundation estimates the state has about 7.1 million people —or about 18 percent of its total population—without health insurance.

Which Way, LA? spoke with Executive director of Covered California, Peter Lee, back in November about how the state has been leading the way. “We want to get everyone enrolled out of the gate,” said Lee, “the more people are insured, the more we will be able to lower costs for everybody.” He said the goal is to make “shopping for insurance as easy as buying a book on Amazon.” It’s a useful conversation if you’re still confused by how Obamacare will affect your coverage. Listen below: