10.21.15

They Knew: Co-ops Would Fail

Billions Lost As ‘One-Third Of Obamacare Co-Ops Are Now Officially Dead’

 

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): “Barely a week goes by that we don’t see another harmful consequence of this poorly conceived, badly executed law. Despite repeated Obama administration bailout attempts, this is the latest in a string of broken promises with real consequences for the people of Kentucky who may now be losing the health insurance they had and liked twice within the past three years because of Obamacare’s failures.” (Sen. McConnell, Press Release, 10/9/15)

 

2011 Flashback: ‘Obama Administration … Said Roughly One-Third Of Those Loans Could End In Default’

“The Obama administration on Monday rolled out nearly $4 billion in loans for a program established by the healthcare reform law, but said roughly one-third of those loans could end in default. The loans will help establish insurance co-ops, a nonprofit model created by the reform law. … HHS’s proposed rule on co-ops, released Monday, estimates a default rate of 40 percent for the planning loans and 35 percent for the solvency loans.” (“HHS To Loan $4B For Health Co-Ops, Says One-Third Might Default,” The Hill, 7/18/11)

 

‘Future Of An Obamacare Program … Increasingly In Doubt’

“The future of an ObamaCare program that was intended to create non-profit insurers is increasingly in doubt, with several of the ventures forced to close down around the country. On Friday, co-op insurance plans in Colorado and Oregon became the latest to call it quits, following the closure of similar plans this month in Tennessee, Kentucky and New York.” (“Obamacare Co-Ops At Risk Of Failing After Billions In Loans,” The Hill, 10/17/15)

“One-third of the Obamacare health insurance co-ops have now failed, causing about 400,000 policyholders in 10 states to scramble for new coverage for 2016.” (“One-Third Of Obamacare Co-Ops Are Now Officially Dead,” The Daily Caller, 10/15/15)

“…just 15 of the original 23 co-ops will remain in business next year.” (“Two More Obamacare Nonprofits To Close,” The Hill, 10/16/15)

“Twenty-one of 23 co-ops nationwide were losing money as of Dec. 31, the HHS inspector general report found in July. Furthermore, enrollment was falling below projections for 13 of the 23 plans.” (“Kentucky Nonprofit Health Insurer To Shut Down,” The Hill, 10/9/15)

 

In States Across The Country, ‘Enrollees Will Be Forced To Find New Plans’

“In a number of states, enrollees will be forced to find new plans because of the financial collapse of nonprofit ‘co-op’ insurance companies funded by the Affordable Care Act.” (“Obamacare Enrollment Will Barely Increase Next Year, Feds Say,” Huffington Post, 10/15/15)

KENTUCKY: “Kentucky’s nonprofit health insurer set up under ObamaCare is shutting down because of financial problems, the latest in a string of closures for the nonprofit plans around the country. Kentucky Health Cooperative, a nonprofit insurer known as a co-op, explained that it could not stay financially afloat… The Kentucky co-op provides insurance for 51,000 people, who will lose their plans at the end of the year.” (“Kentucky Nonprofit Health Insurer To Shut Down,” The Hill, 10/9/15)

TENNESSEE: “Community Health Alliance (CHA) has voluntarily entered state-approved runoff and will not offer insurance coverage in 2016. The runoff decision came after careful analysis of the company’s current and future financial condition and lengthy discussions involving the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) and CHA. Created as a Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) under the Affordable Care Act, CHA has approximately 27,000 enrollees.” (Tennessee Dept. Of Commerce & Insurance, Press Release, 10/14/15)

NEW YORK: “Government officials are shutting down a nonprofit health insurer in New York set up under ObamaCare because of its financial struggles, the latest blow to the healthcare law’s nonprofit plans.” (“Another Obamacare Nonprofit Bites The Dust,” The Hill, 9/25/15)

COLORADO: “Colorado's biggest nonprofit health insurer announced its closure Friday, forcing nearly 83,000 Coloradans to find a new insurer for 2016. Colorado HealthOP announced Friday that the state Division of Insurance has said it can't keep selling health insurance.” (“Largest Health Insurer On Colorado Exchange Collapses,” AP, 10/16/15)

OREGON: “Health Republic Insurance, one of the state's two co-ops, said Friday it will not offer plans in 2016. … Oregon's co-op served nearly 15,000 members, and will still give coverage through the end of the year.” (“Oregon Latest State To Ditch Obamacare Co-Op,” The Examiner, 10/16/15)

NEVADA: “Nevada Health CO-OP, a nonprofit insurer created by the Affordable Care Act and federally funded to offer health coverage through the Nevada Health Link marketplace, said Wednesday that it cannot make enough money to stay in business after Jan. 1.” (“Millions In The Red, A Nevada Obamacare Insurer Has Failed,” Las Vegas Review-Journal, 8/26/15)

NEBRASKA & IOWA: “The federal government could be out more than $140 million by the time a defunct Iowa health-insurance cooperative's finances are settled, a new court filing suggests. CoOportunity Health, which was created under the Affordable Care Act, went belly up last December after losing millions of dollars. Its financing included $147 million in loans from the federal government. That money was used to launch the company in 2012 and then to keep it afloat as it sold health-insurance policies to about 110,000 people in Iowa and Nebraska. … CoOportunity was one of 23 health insurance co-ops set up under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. It was the first to fail.” (“CoOportunity Failure Could Cost Feds $140 Million,” The Des Moines Register, 8/3/15)

LOUISIANA: “…Louisiana Health -- taken over by state regulators on Sept. 1 -- was one of 23 plans created nationally under the Affordable Care Act to ensure there would be competition among health insurers.” (“Program Designed To Help Louisiana With New Health Cooperatives Fails,” The Advocate, 9/26/15)

VERMONT: “A co-op in Vermont was shuttered in 2013, before it even began selling plans.” (“Millions In The Red, A Nevada Obamacare Insurer Has Failed,” Las Vegas Review-Journal, 8/26/15)

 

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Related Issues: Health Care, Obamacare