Should 'health exchanges' be renamed?

The Wall Street Journal reports that the phrase confuses consumers in focus groups. Meanwhile, Papa John's CEO and founder John Schnatter, who is a fundraiser for Mitt Romney, told shareholders last week that the health care law is going to raise the company's costs, which he vowed to pass onto consumers.

The Wall Street Journal: Puzzling Over What To Call State Insurance Exchanges
Health-insurance exchanges are a central part of the Obama administration's health overhaul, serving as marketplaces for people to shop for coverage. But states trying to set them up are finding many people don't know what an exchange is and don't necessarily like the sound of it. … The word exchange "raises some suspicions of loopholes and fine print" and "implies current coverage may needed to be traded for something else," wrote communications company GMMB in a presentation to the Washington State Health Benefit Exchange. Part of the problem, GMMB said, was that the word was "perceived as a verb and unfamiliar as a noun" and reminded people of the New York Stock Exchange or military exchange stores (Radnofsky, 8/7).

KHN's earlier, related coverage: What's In A Name: Health Exchanges, Marketplaces ... Or Swap Meets (Jaffe, 5/10).

Politico: Papa John's: 'Obamacare' Will Raise Pizza Prices
Pizza chain Papa John's told shareholders that President Obama's health care law will cost consumers more on their pizza. On a conference call last week, CEO and founder John Schnatter (a Mitt Romney supporter and fundraiser) said the health care law's changes - set to go into effect in 2014 - will result in higher costs for the company - which they vowed to pass onto consumers (Tau, 8/7).