HONOLULU — The head of Hawaii’s online health insurance marketplace says it isn’t earning enough to pay for itself beyond 2014.
Tom Matsuda, the interim executive director of the Hawaii Health Connector, told state lawmakers Tuesday that because so few people have used it, the Health Connector won’t break even after this year. About 4,500 people have enrolled in individual insurance plans.
Lawmakers are considering a bill to bring the troubled Health Connector under the state’s control. The Health Connector has been hampered by delays and low enrollment since launching in October.
Matsuda says the Health Connector has asked the federal government for permission to spend its $205 million in federal grants more slowly than originally planned. Matsuda says that extension would allow the Health Connector to cover its costs through 2016.