A Review of Grants Received by the S.C. Department of Insurance Under the Affordable Care Act
October 2011
The S.C. Department of Insurance applied for and was awarded three grants under the Affordable Care Act: the Consumer Assistance Grant ($441,000); the State Planning and Establishment Grant for the Affordable Care Act’s Exchanges ($1,000,000); and the Health Insurance Premium Review Grant ($1,000,000). These grants were made available by the federal government to help states implement health reform.
We found that the expenditures of these grants were handled in compliance with the law and terms of the grant. Each of the grants, as of August 31, 2011, had significant remaining balances; however, some of those funds are obligated for contracted studies or reviews. DOI has obtained extensions for the exchange and the rate review grants to December 31, 2011, and March 31, 2012, respectively; however, no extension was obtained for the consumer assistance grant.
DOI has made no decisions on how, or if, it will spend the remainder of the consumer assistance grant. A significant portion of the rate review grant will be spent for the actuarial review of premium rate data. The future plans for the exchange grant depend, in part, on what recommendations are made by the health exchange committee. The committee is charged with recommending whether or not South Carolina should establish a health insurance exchange. The committee’s report is expected by October 28, 2011.