The state insurance commissioner has taken over a co-op that was financed by the Affordable Care Act to provide another health insurance option to Iowans.
Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart went to court Tuesday and got a judge’s order that places him in the role of “rehabilitator” of CoOportunity Health. The cooperative did not resist the move after Gerhart cited concerns about the coop’s finances.
Because of the judge’s order, CoOportunity Health is no longer offering insurance policies to Iowans through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace for 2015. CoOportunity Health began selling policies in 2013 and was financed by federal loan guarantees, but the coop currently doesn’t have enough cash and assets.
Iowans who signed up for coverage through CoOportunity will likely switch to other carriers by mid-February, when the latest enrollment period for Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies ends. About 120,000 people in Iowa and Nebraska had signed up for health care coverage from CoOportunity Health.