Progress report on health law's risk adjustment rule; Status check on state-based exchanges

News outlets offer updates regarding state progress related to developing the health law's insurance exchanges, the timing for risk adjustment rules and the release of the final federal rule on the health insurance premium tax credit. 

Politico: Few States Set For Health Exchanges
When health insurance exchanges open in 2014, it is now clear that the federal government will be playing the lead, not the understudy. Many insurance experts and health policy consultants predict only a dozen or so states will be ready to run exchanges on their own -- and a few say that projection may be too sunny (Feder and Millman, 5/21).

Politico Pro: CCIIO: Risk Adjustment Rules Due By Fall
CCIIO officials told state officials Monday that draft rules on risk adjustment will not be issued till the fall, according to sources participating in a three-day conference on exchanges held this week in Washington. The CCIIO officials also said that final rules may not be available until December or January (Feder, 5/21).

Modern Healthcare: Feds Issue Final Rule On Consumer Tax Credit
The federal government has released a final rule cementing many of the details of the health insurance premium tax credit. Mandated by the health care reform law, the credit applies to individuals and families who are enrolled in insurance exchanges and whose income is between 100 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level. The Treasury Department, which published the rule May 18, estimates the tax credit will help provide coverage for nearly 20 million middle-income Americans (McKinney, 5/21).

In other health law news, the Department of Health and Human Services signs a $20 million PR contract to get the word out about the overhaul --

The Hill: HHS Signs $20M PR Contract To Promote Health Care Law
The Health and Human Services Department has signed a $20 million contract with a public-relations firm to highlight part of the Affordable Care Act. The new, multimedia ad campaign is designed to educate the public about how to stay healthy and prevent illnesses, an HHS official said (Baker, 5/21).