Governor invokes 'safety valve' provision for health exchange

In the final pages of a law enacted in 2012, the Legislature spelled out a safety valve the Shumlin administration could use if the online health insurance marketplace then under development failed to operate as intended when it opened for business in 2013.

Vermont’s new insurance marketplace, like its federal counterpart, had a rocky launch Oct. 1 and remains plagued with glitches.

After trying to remain upbeat despite a month of malfunctions, Gov. Peter Shumlin last week invoked the legal safety mechanism that will give thousands of Vermonters the option to temporarily bypass Vermont Health Connect to obtain health insurance coverage for 2014.

“The purpose of Vermont Health Connect is to simplify the process of buying insurance for Vermonters,” Shumlin said in a statement. However, the promised simplification has been illusive, because the website has to yet to function fully or consistently.

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