Mason School Professor appointed by Va. Gov. to Health Committee
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has named Louis Rossiter, a retired faculty member in public policy and health economics, and longtime professor at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business, to the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange Advisory Committee.
Rossiter is formerly the Secretary of Health and Human Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia, where he was responsible for bringing major information technology projects in the Secretariat to national prominence alongside the implementation of major reforms in Virginia Medicaid.
“As a health economist my entire career, it is very special to be involved with helping to create a state-wide marketplace for health insurance,” said Rossiter. “In just my first meeting, we have already discussed some very significant issues to making this marketplace a success for Virginians.”
The state-based exchange was passed on a bipartisan basis by the 2020 Virginia General Assembly and is tasked with overseeing Virginia's transition to a new state-based health benefit exchange. It will be a comprehensive, multi-year effort to implement a state-based online health insurance marketplace that complies with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for Virginians in need of health insurance.
Rossiter hopes that his expertise as both a researcher and executive in the managed care and health economics fields will bring a uniquely helpful perspective to the committee.
“My funded research over many years has been squarely on the topic of people selecting managed care plans that best suit their needs,” said Rossiter. “There are currently 18 other state-based online platforms that comply with the Affordable Care Act as well as the existing online marketplace for those utilizing Medicare Advantage. There is much we can learn from their collective years of experience in terms of understanding outcomes.”
The Health Benefit Exchange Advisory Committee has ten voting members, representing a cross-section of stakeholders from around Virginia. The Advisory Committee provides guidance to the State Corporation Commission and the Exchange Director and staff in fulfilling the duties of the Virginia Exchange.
Virginians today can continue to shop, enroll in, or change health care plans at the federal Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) website www.healthcare.gov. But, Virginia, like 18 other states, will soon replace the federal health benefit exchange with its own state-based health benefit exchange. Research shows that state-based exchanges are more successful in enrolling uninsured or underinsured individuals and families in exchange health plans.
