On April 12, 2012, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo issued an Executive Order to establish a statewide Health Insurance Exchange in New York. Exchanges are intended to help eligible residents purchase health insurance and, if eligible, receive a subsidy to lower the cost of coverage. Small businesses may also purchase health insurance made available by Exchanges.
According to federal health care reform, states that decide to operate their own Exchanges must do so by January 1, 2014 and must be ready to accept applications for enrollment by October 1, 2013. States that cannot set up a functional Exchange by this deadline may then have the federal government set one up for them.
For more information, you can read the Executive Order here or the press release here.