Collapse Of Co-Ops, Other Signs Of Market Instability Draw Concerns From Across The Spectrum
The demise of New York's Health Republic is the most recent health insurance co-operative to come undone, though some -- like a Connecticut co-op -- offer a different story.
The New York Times:
Instability In Marketplaces Draws Concern On Both Sides Of Health Law
The latest turmoil in health insurance marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act has emboldened advocates on both sides of the political spectrum, providing ammunition to conservatives who want to shrink the federal role and liberals who want to expand it. UnitedHealth Group rattled federal officials when it announced last week that it was losing money in the insurance exchanges .... Those concerns followed the collapse of 12 of the 23 nonprofit insurance cooperatives .... In addition, insurance markets in many states are unstable. Premiums are volatile. Insurers say their new customers have been sicker than expected. And the law is as divisive as ever. (Pear and Goodnough, 11/27)
Fox News:
Fate Of Obamacare Co-Ops Uncertain After Half Collapse
The fate of a network of alternative “co-op” health plans started under Obamacare remains uncertain going into 2016, after half of them collapsed amid deep financial problems. (Singman, 11/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
New York Health Co-Op’s Collapse Hits Physicians
Mount Kisco Medical Group PC, in the Hudson Valley, provided care to more than 13,000 patients who used Health Republic Insurance of New York. But the insolvent insurer, which the state and federal regulators shut down in September, left the Mount Kisco medical practice with millions of dollars in unpaid claims, said Scott Hayworth, a physician and the group’s president and chief executive. (Ramey, 11/27)
USA Today:
Health Republic Is Latest Health Care Co-Op To Go Under
About 200,000 New Yorkers will see their Health Republic policies expire on Monday, marking the demise of the 12th health insurance co-op established under the Affordable Care Act. That's more than half of the 23 consumer operated and oriented plans that were created with federal loan money to promote competition on the state online exchanges selling insurance under the 2010 health care law. The 12 co-ops, which received $1.2 billion in taxpayer-funded loans, failed for a variety of reasons (Tumulty, 11/29)
Kaiser Health News:
A Tale Of Two Obamacare Co-Op Insurers: One Standing, One Falling
Thousands of Americans are again searching for health insurance after losing it for 2016. That’s because health cooperatives — large, low-cost insurers set up as part of Obamacare — are folding in a dozen states. The failure of Colorado’s co-op has hit Rick and Letha Heitman hard. They are currently customers of the Colorado HealthOP, which is closing up shop at the end of the year. The couple, who own a contracting business, say the co-op proved to be a life-saver when Rick was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer last spring. (Daley and Cohen, 11/30)