Last week the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) started referring to state health insurance exchanges as "marketplaces" in an attempt to rebrand the central component of the Affordable Care Act, says an article in The Hill.  

A press release issued January 17 by HHS announced new grants to support states building health insurance "marketplaces." The agency also revamped HealthCare.gov to reflect the name change. 

Opponents of the health care law say the name change shows the administration is "failing" at getting support for the state-run programs and won't make any difference.

According to The Hill, supporters of health care reform say the name change wasn't meant to assuage political opposition to the health care law. They say that "exchange" simply isn't a very good description. States have come up with their own names for their exchanges. Massachusetts', which predates the federal health care law, is called the "Connector." California named its exchange "Cover California."