State director to run N.M. insurance hub

The director of the agency responsible for Arkansas' health insurance exchanges will become director of the exchanges in New Mexico on March 1, New Mexico's exchange board announced Friday.

After submitting her resignation to the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace board of directors last week, Cheryl Smith Gardner told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette she had accepted a job in New Mexico, but didn't provide further details.

The previous director of beWellnm, which is responsible for New Mexico's exchanges, resigned in August for a job with Long Beach, Calif.-based Molina Healthcare, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

"The board and I are confident that Ms. Smith Gardner has the experience and knowledge to successfully lead beWellnm through the rest of 2017 and into the future," J.R. Damron, chairman of the beWellnm board of directors, said in a news release.

Gardner, whose resignation in Arkansas takes effect Feb. 17, has said the move will allow her and her husband to be closer to his mother, who lives in Salt Lake City.

"While Scott and I will undoubtedly miss Arkansas and all the wonderful friends we've made here, we feel extraordinarily blessed to call New Mexico our new home," Gardner said Friday.

Gardner's annual salary at the Arkansas marketplace was $175,100.

Amy Dowd, the previous director of the New Mexico exchange, was paid $199,100, according to the Journal. Information about what Gardner's salary in New Mexico will be wasn't available Friday.

Angela Lowther, the Arkansas marketplace's director of policy and compliance, will serve as interim director while the Arkansas board searches for a replacement.

Created under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, exchanges allow consumers to shop for coverage and apply for subsidies to help pay for it.

Arkansas and New Mexico set up their own small business exchanges but offer insurance to individual consumers through the federal enrollment system, which includes healthcare.gov.

While small businesses can sign up to offer employer plans at any time, individual consumers can generally enroll only during annual open enrollment periods. The deadline for individual consumers to enroll in coverage this year is Tuesday.

Metro on 01/29/2017

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