As the Co-Ops created under the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act fail one after another and their members
enroll in coverage with other carriers, the carriers face increased
financial risk in ways that were never contemplated by state or
federal authorities.
Co-Ops
Throughout the health care reform debate, members of Congress,
providers, insurers and stakeholders consistently stressed the need
to reform the nation's health care marketplace. While they may
not have agreed on how best to reform the system, consumer choice,
accountability and affordability were recurring themes in most
proposals. Section 1322 of the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act (ACA) created the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan
program ("Co–Op" program) to foster the creation of
new consumer-governed, private, nonprofit health insurance issuers.
These Co-Ops were intended to improve consumer choice and
plan accountability, promote integrated models of care and
