Utah Makes Unique Obamacare Exchange Deal

Utah will be the sole state to run its own Small Business Health Options Program exchange under Obamacare, while leaving the federal government to set up the exchange for the individual market, Politico reports.

Gov. Gary Herbert said the White House has approved the state's proposal to run only the small-business part of the healthcare exchange. It is the only state that has proposed splitting the exchange into two parts.

The Beehive State will manage the small-business exchange according to its own rules, while the federal government will run the individual exchange according to similar rules used in other states.

"The only way this was going to work was if we were granted flexibility," the Republican governor said. "Fortunately for all, [the Department of Health and Human Services] proved to be flexible, concurring with everything we proposed to be able to operate an exchange that meets the needs of Utah residents."

One of the main concerns Herbert had was the amount of data that Utah would be required to share with the federal government. He was worried that he would violate state law by sharing information regarding individuals or employers using the small business exchange.

"HHS acknowledges our limitations and agreed to my proposal," he said.