Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Two More Health Law Co-Ops Face Collapse
The Washington Post: Two More Obamacare Health Insurance Plans Collapse
Nearly a third of the innovative health insurance plans created under the Affordable Care Act will be out of business at the end of 2015, following announcements Friday that plans in Oregon and Colorado are folding. In just the past week, four co-ops, as the nonprofit plans are known, have decided or been ordered to shut down. Their demise means that eight of the 23 co-ops in existence a year ago will be unavailable to consumers shopping for 2016 coverage through insurance marketplaces created under the ACA. (Levine and Goldstein, 10/16)
The Wall Street Journal: More Health Co-Ops Face Collapse
Health cooperatives are collapsing at such a rapid clip that some co-ops and small insurers are forming a coalition to consider legal action to try to change health-law provisions they blame for their financial distress. Colorado’s co-op and one in Oregon announced Friday that they were folding, joining six others that have already collapsed or said they will unwind operations. The eight co-ops have received nearly $900 million in federal funds that may not be paid back. (Armour, 10/16)
The Hill: ObamaCare Co-Ops At Risk Of Failing After Billions In Loans
The future of an ObamaCare program that was intended to create non-profit insurers is increasingly in doubt, ... Just 15 of the original 23 co-ops remain in operation, and the administration acknowledges that more of them could fail, potentially leaving a strike against President Obama’s signature law. (Sullivan, 10/17)
The Denver Post: State Regulators Shut Down Colorado HealthOP Citing Cash-Reserve Woes
Colorado HealthOP will shut down, leaving 83,000 members scrambling for insurance coverage and taxpayers on the hook for about $72 million in federal loans used to start and support the co-op. The Colorado Division of Insurance dropped HealthOP from the state insurance exchange because it no longer meets state capital-reserve requirements. (Wallace, 10/16)
The Denver Post: I'm A Colorado HealthOP Customer. What Do I Do Now?
Colorado HealthOP ... can't sell 2016 policies on Connect for Health Colorado, the state health insurance exchange. The Colorado Division of Insurance cut the co-op from the exchange because it missed cash-reserve requirements just before the open enrollment period opens nov. 1. Anticipating that co-op customers would have questions, the insurance regulators offered this q&a. (10/16)
The Associated Press: Oregon Insurance Co-Op Health Republic To Close
Health Republic Insurance, one of two nonprofit insurers created in Oregon under President Barack Obama's health care law, announced Friday that it is shutting down. Health Republic will continue to pay claims through the rest of the year but won't sell policies for 2016, the company said. The 15,000 individuals and 800 small businesses that get insurance through Health Republic will have to turn to another insurer. (Cooper, 10/16)
The Oregonian: Oregon Insurer Health Republic To Shut Down In 2016, Cites $20 Million Federal Hit
An Oregon insurer, Health Republic, has announced plans to pull its health plans from the 2016 market and shut down, saying recent federal and state regulatory decisions put its financial health in jeopardy. (Budnick, 10/16)
