Insurance Division to begin liquidation of CoOportunity Health

DES MOINES - The Iowa Insurance Division will begin liquidating CoOportunity Health next week, officials said Wednesday.

That means more than 2,000 Iowans who still have CoOportunity plans will lose tax credits and face higher premiums starting March 1 if they do not enroll in a plan with a different carrier.

The Insurance Division took over management of the not-for-profit health insurer at the end of December. CoOportunity Health had too many members for its reserves and not enough cash on hand.

It had about 120,000 members in Iowa and Nebraska - far more than original projections - when state regulators took over in December.

That, compounded with the fact that it could not obtain additional funds from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), forced CoOportunity into a tough financial spot.

During liquidation, Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart will wind down the company's operations under court supervision, while the health insurance guaranty associations in Iowa and Nebraska will assume responsibility for paying the claims of CoOportunity's health care providers.

The 20 or so insurance companies who make up the guaranty associations will be assessed a portion of the costs, the insurance division said in January. This would be determined by each carrier's share of the market.

Although open enrollment ended Feb. 15, those with CoOportunity Health plans can still enroll in another plan before Feb. 28 to maintain their tax credits, the Insurance Division said. There also will be a 60-day special enrollment period beginning March 1 for all Iowans that remain in a CoOportunity plan, but the state said Iowans will see a gap in their tax credits.

Coventry Health Care is now the only carrier to sell plans on Iowa's marketplace. Gerhart said earlier in February that he's optimistic three to four insurers will join the marketplace by the next open enrollment period.

All individual CoOportunity plans will be canceled 180 days after March 1. Small group plans will be canceled within 45 days of March 1.