A new survey has found that 70 percent of healthcare professionals are skeptical that the state and/or federal health insurance exchanges (HIX) will be ready to launch by the Oct. 1, 2013 deadline

The survey, conducted by Edifecs, polled health insurers and healthcare provider attendees of Edifecs' 2013 Healthcare Mandate Summit, which was held Feb. 4-6, 2013 in Austin, Texas.

The study also found respondents are concerned about states’ ability to overhaul existing IT systems to comply with all aspects of the Affordable Care Act, and to create interfaces among the Medicaid, HIX and CHIP (children’s health insurance program) systems at the same time they are developing their HIX infrastructure. Even if they choose not to run their own exchange, many states must complete significant system upgrades.

[See also: Physician approaches to HIE vary widely.]

Other top findings from the HIX survey include:

• Seventy-five percent are very concerned with being able to reconcile premium, enrollment and payment records received from HIXs.
• Eighty-eight percent are concerned about potential disruption to existing IT enrollment infrastructure and processes.
• Ninety-three percent say state exchanges should share more information with—and take more feedback from—health insurers.

The survey was taken of more than 125 senior healthcare professionals who are actively involved in their organization’s compliance initiatives and carry significant responsibility for ensuring compliance with government mandates, according to Edifecs researchers. They represent a wide range of healthcare organizations, including commercial health insurers (68 percent), healthcare providers (11 percent), government entities and agencies (9 percent) and other healthcare industry organizations (12 percent).

Whether or not there is a delay on open enrollment for health insurance exchanges, payers across the country are moving forward with their plans to participate by the Oct. 1, 2013 deadline, according to Edifecs. Ninety-five percent of health insurers attending the Healthcare Mandate Summit reported they plan to participate in an exchange, and 80 percent will be on an exchange in 2014. However most (70 percent) said they're skeptical that the exchanges will be ready by the October deadline.

The study follows last week’s deadline for states to inform the federal government of whether they intend to leverage a partnership health insurance exchange (HIX) or participate on the federally facilitated exchange.

[See also: Interoperability vs. HIE: Words matter.]

“The message we heard from Summit attendees is that while compliance with mandates such as Health Insurance Exchanges is no easy feat, there are considerable benefits to be gained, including increasing member enrollment,” said Jamie Gier, vice president of Corporate Marketing for Edifecs, in a press statement. “The value of the Healthcare Mandate Summit was in helping healthcare organizations confirm whether they are on the right path toward compliance and where they can improve. And as the results of the survey demonstrate, many health insurers are embracing the opportunities that exchanges can provide.”

The full study, "HIX Insights from the 2013 Healthcare Mandate Summit," can be found here.