DEBORAH AMOS, Host:
That Cadillac tax isn't the only tough issue Congress needs to resolve to get a final health bill to President Obama's desk.
STEVE INSKEEP, Host:
Well, let's look at another tough issue. NPR's Julie Rovner reports on health care exchanges. These are the market places where millions of people could, in theory, buy coverage in a revamped health system.
JULIE ROVNER: If you've ever used your computer to book an airline ticket, you should be able to use the new health insurance exchange, says Jon Kingsdale.
AMOS: So we're like - little bit like Travelocity for health insurance. It's an electronic, automated store for insurance.
ROVNER: Kingsdale is executive director of the Commonwealth Connector. It's the independent agency that helps Massachusetts residents find health insurance coverage. Almost everyone in the state is now required to have insurance as a result of a law passed in 2006. Kingsdale says he and his staff have worked hard to make the process as simple as possible.
AMOS: Literally, they come on the Web site, give us a few pieces of information that are necessary to price a particular benefit plan.
ROVNER: That would be age, zip code and family-size.
AMOS: And then do they want what we call gold-level benefits, kind of a Cadillac plan? Or do they want silver or bronze? And we then can then array for them on the Web easy-to-compare options, typically three to five different health plans that meet the specifications they've given us.
ROVNER: Kingsdale says it typically takes people about 20 to 30 minutes to evaluate their options, decide which plan to purchase...
AMOS: ...and push a button, and they're enrolled.
ROVNER: But the Massachusetts connector is just one example of a health insurance exchange. Timothy Jost, a professor at the Washington and Lee University College of Law, says there are other examples within the federal government itself.
INSKEEP: The federal employee health benefits program and, in fact, the Medicare Advantage and Medicare prescription drug program look a lot like exchanges, as well.
ROVNER: As envisioned in the health overhaul bills, the new health exchanges would provide even more tools for consumers than many existing health exchanges. For example, says Jost...
AMOS: Under the Senate bill, one of the things that they would provide would be sort of little scenarios where if you get breast cancer, these are the kinds of things we will cover. These are the kinds of things we won't cover. These are the cost-sharing that you're going to face.
ROVNER: And if the exchanges really work correctly, says Kingsdale of the Massachusetts Connector, they could do even more than just help consumers make better choices.
AMOS: The comparison shopping and the sort of the bidding dynamics that this store, this insurance store would create would add some significant downward pressure on premiums. You know, just like Wal-Mart, it's just a store, but it's done a pretty remarkable job in pushing prices down. With enough volume and enough expertise, I think exchanges can have a similar impact.
ROVNER: Jost says he worries about the Senate's approach.
AMOS: It seems to me to be a much more complicated process that has a lot more room for failure and frankly I think a lot less accountability. Because if the state fails to do it, then the federal government is supposed to step in, but I think it's going to be difficult for the federal government to do that, to say to a state: You failed. We're taking over.
ROVNER: Julie Rovner, NPR News, Washington.