Governor Gregoire Appoints Melanie Curtice to Governing Board of Washington Health Benefits Exchange

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Stoel Rives LLP, a U.S. law firm, today announced that Washington Governor Chris Gregoire has appointed Stoel Rives partner Melanie Curtice to the first governing board of the Washington Health Benefits Exchange. The board will oversee the implementation of the exchange, a new health insurance marketplace that will be available to individuals and small businesses beginning in January 2014.

Seattle, WA, United States., December 19, 2011 - (PressReleasePoint) - Stoel Rives LLP, a U.S. law firm, today announced that Washington Governor Chris Gregoire has appointed Stoel Rives partner Melanie Curtice to the first governing board of the Washington Health Benefits Exchange. Curtice and seven other board appointees were selected from 20 nominees put forward by the state legislative caucuses. The board will oversee the implementation of the exchange, a new health insurance marketplace that will be available to individuals and small businesses beginning in January 2014. Margaret Stanley, retired Executive Director of the Puget Sound Health Alliance, will serve as the board’s chair.

Curtice, a member of the firm's Executive Committee, Employee Benefits practice and Health Care Team, has extensive experience counseling companies and organizations on employee benefits matters, including health and welfare benefit plans, and the tax, ERISA, HIPAA, PPACA and other compliance issues related to such plans. Her clients include a wide range of public and private companies and governmental employers throughout Washington state. Curtice  is recognized in the Best Lawyers of America publication, and as one of “America’s Leading Lawyers for Business” by Chambers USA.

“I greatly appreciate this opportunity to serve the people of Washington,” said Curtice. “We owe it to them to ensure the exchange adopts an informational and user-friendly approach. I look forward to working with my board colleagues to help make health care more accessible and affordable to all our citizens.”

Governor Gregoire praised the appointees, stating, “This is a well-rounded and extremely knowledgeable group of people. They are committed to making the Exchange work for the people of Washington, and I have no doubt that under Margaret's leadership they will succeed. I want to thank them for their willingness to serve, and the legislature for providing such a quality list of nominees from which I had to choose.”

The Health Benefits Exchange was first signed into law by Governor Gregoire in May 2011. Created under the authority of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, the exchange will offer a variety of certified health plans and provide access to tax credits and public programs such as Medicaid to make those plans more affordable. The exchange board will initially focus on applying for federal grants, establishing information technology infrastructure and creating internal operations of the exchange.

The other exchange board appointments are as follows:

• Chair, Margaret Stanley, retired Executive Director of the Puget Sound Health Alliance and former Senior Vice-President at Regence BlueShield
• Steve Appel, wheat and barley farmer and immediate past-President of the Washington Farm Bureau
• Bill Baldwin, Partner, The Partners Group
• Don Conant, General Manager at Valley Nut and Bolt in Olympia and Assistant Professor at the St. Martin's University School of Business
• Doug Conrad, Professor of Health Services at the University of Washington School of Public Health
• Dr. Ben Danielson, Medical Director at the Odessa Brown Children's Clinic
• Phil Dyer, Senior Vice President at Kibble & Prentice/USI and former state legislator
• Teresa Mosqueda, Legislative and Policy Director for the Washington State Labor Council and Chair of the Healthy Washington Coalition

About Stoel Rives LLP:  Stoel Rives is a business law firm providing corporate and litigation services to a wide range of clients throughout the United States. The firm has nearly 400 attorneys operating out of 11 offices in seven states. Stoel Rives is a leader in corporate, energy, environmental, intellectual property, labor and employment, land use and construction, litigation, natural resources, project development and real estate law. The firm has offices in Alaska, California, Idaho, Minnesota, Oregon, Utah and Washington. For more information, visit www.stoel.com.
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