S.C. won't have to refund health insurance exchange grant, other exchange news

South Carolina won't have to refund the federal government a $1 million grant it received even though the state decided to not create a health insurance exchange. Mississippi and California, in the meantime, are moving along on creating such marketplaces, despite differing views on the health law.

Politico Pro: South Carolina Won't Have To Refund 'Non'-Exchange Planning
South Carolina won't have to pay back its health insurance exchange planning grant after Gov. Nikki Haley instructed an advisory committee not to consider a state-based exchange. Federal auditors had been exploring whether South Carolina misused a $1 million HHS grant to plan a state-based exchange, but decided to drop the investigation this week (Millman, 3/14).

Kaiser Health News: Mississippi Builds Insurance Exchange, Even As It Fights Health Law
Mississippi, a deeply red Southern state that is part of the Supreme Court case against the health law, is moving full speed ahead with one of the key provisions of that law: an online health insurance exchange (Hess, 3/14).

California Healthline: On the Health Reform Trail: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 
Health reform is a bit like the Wild West -- a staggered movement across many different paths with little tested experience to guide the way. Some states have rebuffed the mission, some have taken tentative steps and some have become trailblazers. Compared with other states, California is ahead of the pack in many respects. But it still has much to do (Wayt, 3/14).