New Mexico, which has elected to run its own health insurance exchange with federal help under the Affordable Care Act, is preparing to release at least one RFP as soon as this week covering PR and public outreach.
New Mexico is eying $20M in federal funds to use for marketing, outreach and education for the exchange and is in negotiations with the federal Center for Consumer Information & Insurance Oversight this week.
It expects the funding to be approved by July 1.
The exchange anticipates a 2013 marketing budget of $2.8M.
Outreach in the state is a "unique" challenge in New Mexico because of its Native American and Hispanic populations, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The state created the exchange in late March after Gov. Susana Martinez, who previously vetoed bills which would have created the marketplace in 2011, signed it into law.
The state initially wanted to run its own exchange but has asked for federal help after it anticipated missing the Oct. 1 deadline to be operational.
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