Gov. David Ige’s administration is set to approve a plan to spend $30 million for one year to temporarily use the federal exchange, healthcare.gov, to enroll residents in insurance under Obamacare.

The “corrective action plan” being discussed between the administration and the federal government to prevent closure of the Hawaii’s exchange would require the state Department of Human Services spend $20 million to link its Medicaid eligibility system to healthcare.gov. The Hawaii Health Connector estimates it would have to spend another $10 million to $11 million to connect to the federal exchange, state officials disclosed at a Connector board meeting Friday.

That amounts to $810 per person for one year to enroll in coverage under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. A message left for Laurel Johnston, Ige’s deputy chief of staff, wasn’t immediately returned.

“Our first priority is to protect the 37,000 people who have enrolled for insurance on the Connector,” said Jeff Kissel, the Connector’s executive director. “We want to be sure there is a seamless transition if necessary to healthcare.gov or that they can maintain coverage on our exchange.”

The Connector, a nonprofit created by the Legislature in 2011, has prepared a contingency plan to shut down operations by Sept. 30 after lawmakers failed to pass legislation to keep the state’s troubled insurance exchange afloat. The Legislature recently granted the Connector just $2 million in state funding, less than half the $5.4 million Connector officials said they needed to continue operations this year.

The contingency plan, obtained by the Hono­­lulu Star-Advertiser, states the Connector will cease new enrollments Friday, discontinue outreach services May 31 and transfer its technology to the state by Sept. 30. The Connector’s workforce will be completely eliminated by Feb. 28. The exchange has 32 employees, 29 temporary staff and 12 full-time contractors.

“If you don’t plan for a disaster, a disaster will hurt you a lot worse,” Kissel told the newspaper on Wednesday. “If you don’t have a plan to deal with a tsunami or earthquake, you’re very foolish. This is a plan for a contingency, not an eventuality, but anyone who is responsible for the lives of almost 40,000 people must plan for the contingency.”

The state was notified in March that Hawaii was out of compliance with the Affordable Care Act because the Connector wasn’t financially sustainable at the start of this year and wasn’t integrated with the Medicaid system, which determines eligibility for subsidies and tax credits obtained through the exchange. 

The federal government subsequently restricted grant money to support the Connector and moved to take over its IT functions to allow residents to enroll in coverage through the federal marketplace, healthcare.gov.

The state administration is negotiating with the federal government to release grant money to avoid the closure of Hawaii’s online marketplace, which was awarded $204.3 million in federal grants to build and operate a system that provides subsidized coverage to residents with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income residents. All but about $70 million of the federal grant money has been spent. 

Officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the federal agency overseeing health insurance exchanges nationwide, didn’t respond when asked whether they would accept Hawaii’s corrective action proposal and release additional funds for the Connector.

“CMS continues to have discussions with the state on the options and  steps they need to take to best serve their state’s consumers,” said CMS spokesman Jack Cheevers. “We remain committed in working with Hawaii so that people from Hawaii have the ability to shop for quality, affordable health coverage.”

The federal government’s restriction on the remaining funds is affecting the Connector’s ability to improve its technology, which has been a problem for users since its inception in October 2013.

Under the contingency plan, Connector functions would be transferred to the state so that the roughly 37,000 enrolled on the exchange would not lose their coverage. However, residents would have to re-enroll in healthcare.gov to ensure coverage for 2016.