The director of the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace submitted her resignation Friday as the Legislature considers merging the marketplace's functions into the state Insurance Department.
Angela Lowther's resignation becomes effective in four weeks.
Lowther, the marketplace board and legislative leaders have been in conflict in recent months over the board's decision to raise the fee it levies on policies sold through the health insurance exchange in 2020.
After legislators made it clear late last year that they did not support the fee hike, the board this month voted to lower the fee for 2020.
At the same time state Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr has said his department can absorb the marketplace's responsibilities at a lower cost, and legislation is on the table to make that happen.
The Legislature created the marketplace to set up state-run exchanges allowing individual consumers and small businesses to shop for coverage and apply for subsidies to help pay for it. While it set up a small-business exchange in 2015, it scrapped its plans, at Gov. Asa Hutchinson's request, to set up an exchange for individual consumers.
The marketplace instead took responsibility for helping consumers sign up for individual plans sold through healthcare.gov and for certifying those plans.
[RELATED: Complete Democrat-Gazette coverage of the Arkansas Legislature]