Gov. Butch Otter’s chief of health and welfare sent a letter Nov. 3 to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services asking for a one-year extension of the January 2014 deadline on creating a state-run health insurance exchange and online portal, where people and small businesses could buy insurance in a larger pool.

The reason: Lack of timely information from the feds on how states should build their exchanges, said Dick Armstrong, who runs the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

Idaho also asked for details about a federal exchange — what Idaho will get if it doesn’t build its own — but hasn’t heard back from HHS.

The feds’ reaction so far is silence. Jon Hanian, spokesman for Gov. Butch Otter, said HHS has yet to reply.

Armstrong said the timeline is “unreasonable and unrealistic.” He said having to wait for federal guidance interferes with the rate of progress Idaho can make on its own exchange, because the Idaho Legislature meets only a few months each year.

Audrey Dutton: 377-6448