It was only a matter of time before Hawaii had to cut this cancer loose.
The state confirmed Friday that it will scrap its costly and failed Obamacare exchange, reports Fox News.
According to Hawaii Gov. David Ige, the Health Connector has been “unable to generate sufficient revenues to sustain operations.” In late May, the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services told the state there would be no more federal funds to support the longterm operation of the its exchange.
Though Hawaii is just confirming the shutdown of the site, Americans for Tax Reform anticipated last month that the exchange, which has been plagued by financial and technological problems, would be meeting its death in the near future.
Over $205 million has been pumped into the exchange, including $74 million alone given to CGI to create and maintain the site.
And, while the initial enrollment goal was 300,000, the site enrolled a mere 8,500 in the first year. Even at its highest point, enrollment was only 37,000.
Perhaps the most staggering figure is the cost of the exchange per person. The Hawaii Health Connector dropped over $23,899 on its website for each individual enrolled in Obamacare.
“The state is working with the Connector and CMS to determine what functions can be transitioned to state oversight to ensure compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by the next Open Enrollment in November 2015,” Ige explained Friday.
Despite the dissolution of the Hawaii Health Connector, the state will still have a Supported State-based Marketplace to offer local customer support.
“The state remains committed to offering health care coverage through the Prepaid Health Care Act as it has for the past 40 years,” Ige assured. “The state continues to provide millions of dollars to serve 300,000 Hawaii adults and children who receive health care coverage through Medicaid.”
Hawaii joins multiple states — Oregon, Massachusetts, Maryland, Vermont, New Mexico and Nevada — that have been forced to scrap their state-run exchanges.
