His staff at the DVHA has grown by 50 percent to 180, and they've brought in a team of consultants nearly as big from CGI Group, with subcontractors from Oracle and KPMG.
They've all just moved into a new 26-thousand square foot office space, where they are literally working hand in hand now on the design and implementation of the all pieces that have to come together in the online marketplace that will serve as the gateway for people to access insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
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"Often times the focus is on the website," said Melissa Boudreault, VP of State Health Solutions at CGI Group, who is leading the buildout effort. "Really what it takes to build an exchange is bringing together different technologies — everything from how people shop to how you create bills."
Boudreault has done much of it before. She was one of the founding directors of the Massachusetts health exchange when it launched in less than six months in 2006. But the work she's doing now in Vermont has added complexity.
Making the system simple
"One of the significant elements of the ACA was the move to a highly simplified eligibility model," she said.
They are most focused on developing the infrastructure that will let people determine whether they're eligible for Medicaid or for a federal tax credit when to buy private insurance when they sign up for coverage. Current Medicaid and Medicare programs don't integrate eligibility and access in one place.
"Of all the things that are being done in the exchanges that move to simplified eligibility is probably the most sweeping change because it allows states to move to an administration simplification that wasn't ever possible before," Boudreault said.
