Arizona health insurance co-op will be closing at the end of the year

Arizona Health Insurance Exchange

Meritus Health Partners is struggling to find any financial success

Arizona’s health insurance co-op, a non-profit organization meant to ensure state residents have access to insurance coverage, will be shutting down on December 31 this year. Meritus Health Partners, which provides coverage to nearly 60,000 Arizona residents, has suffered from financial complications over the past year, leaving it in a very troubling situation. The co-op’s governing board has determined that the best course of action will be to close down the co-op, with those affected by the closure having to find coverage through other channels.

State bars co-op from selling new policies or renewing existing policies

Last month, the Arizona Department of Insurance announced that Meritus Health Partners was no longer allowed to sell health insurance coverage in the state. The organization was also barred from renewing policies from existing policyholders. The state has been supervising the co-op since the announcement, with state officials looking into its continued viability. The state has found that Meritus Health Partners is no longer a viable organization, largely due to the financial problems it is currently facing.

Health insurance co-ops continue to fail throughout the US

Arizona Health Insurance ExchangeMeritus Health Partners is not the only health insurance co-op that has been struggling. It is among the 23 of these organizations that have been formed throughout the country that are beginning to crumble under financial pressure. The co-ops were meant to bring more competition into the health insurance market, which, theoretically, could have driven down insurance premiums and provided consumers with more options when it comes to acquiring coverage. While this has been true to a certain degree, most co-ops have failed to meet their financial responsibilities.

Federal officials look to find out why co-ops are struggling

The failure of Meritus Health Partners and other co-ops throughout the country has caught the attention of federal lawmakers. Some are beginning to request financial information concerning the co-ops, looking to determine why these organizations have been failing in recent months. Solving the financial problems of co-ops is not the sole province of the federal government, however, as these organizations must also fend for themselves in order to secure financial stability.

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