UPDATE: On February 15, 2013, TN Governor Bill Haslam made a major announcement in regards to the partnership with the federal government to form a state-based healthcare exchange. In a letter to U.S. Health and Human Resources Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Gov. Haslam clearly stated that Tennessee would not operate a state based healthcare exchange, leaving the duties solely up to the federal government. 

Past information:

WGNS has been looking into the Affordable Health Care act over the past several days and recently spoke to local Nurse Practitioner Donna Sealy about the bill.  Sealy and Registered Nurse Rebekah Majors-Manley are volunteering their time to help Rutherford County residents sign up for health insurance when the bill goes into affect this October.

The Affordable Health Care act is the bill that was dubbed “ObamaCare.”

Sealy tells us why this bill is important to her...

Meet Rebekah Majors-Manley:

Majors-Manley will hold a meeting about free and low income health insurance options in Shelbyville on February 23 at the 50’s and Fiddles Café between 10 A.M. and 2 P.M. She also meets weekly at Panera Bread in Murfreesboro every Saturday at 1.

Majors-Manley can be reached at 615-589-6044. Majors-Manley will be on the air Friday, February 8 at 8:10 for the Action Line. She will take calls throughout the show if you have questions on how to gain insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

According to the federal government, "When enrollment through the Health Insurance Marketplace starts in October 2013, you may be eligible for a new kind of tax credit you can use right away to lower what you pay for your monthly health plan premiums."

Read the law (divided into categories for easy searching)

More: http://www.healthcare.gov/marketplace/about/index.html

According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, “State-based health insurance exchanges, or marketplaces, are a key component of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and the places where individuals and small businesses will be able to shop for coverage. States have the option of operating their own exchange or partnering with the federal government to run an exchange.  States choosing neither option will default to a federally-facilitated exchange. All exchanges, regardless of how they are administered, must be ready to begin enrolling consumers into coverage on October 1, 2013 and must be fully operational on January 1, 2014.”

The Henry J. Kaiser Family foundation states on their website, that they are a leader in health policy analysis, health journalism and communication.

Gov. Haslam says Tennessee will allow federal government to set up exchange. 

Information on our guest, Mrs. Majors-Manley: