HHS Seeking $1.5B In Funding To Run Federal Health Insurance Exchanges

The Obama administration, rebuffed earlier this year by Republicans, is trying once again to convince Congress to provide more funding for the health law’s insurance exchanges, which are set to begin enrollment this fall.

According to figures released in the fiscal 2014 budget request Wednesday, the administration estimates that the federal government will spend about $4 billion on those federal- and state-run marketplaces for individual and small businesses purchasing insurance coverage. 

"This budget supports the operation of the federally facilitated marketplaces and provides for the assistance and oversight needs of the state-based and state partnership marketplaces as well," Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday. The money would fund exchange operations as well as education and outreach efforts, she said.