Arizona’s health insurance co-op will be shutting down this year
Consumers in Arizona will have to find new health insurance policies following a decision made by state regulators to prohibit the sale of new policies through the Arizona health insurance co-op. Regulators have expressed fears that the co-op would fail. The co-op, called Meritus Health Partners, will be shutting down as a result of this decision, which means that some 59,000 people will lose their health insurance policies that were provided through the co-op.
Consumers that received policies from Meritus Health Partners will have to find coverage through the state’s insurance exchange
Those living in Arizona will be able to find policies through the state’s insurance exchange, which is now accepting new enrollees. Many had found coverage through the state’s co-op initially, but will no longer be able to find policies through Meritus Health Partners. The state no longer believes that the co-op can meet the needs of consumers while remaining financially solvent. Several groups are working in the state to assist in the enrollment process, allowing those that are losing their coverage to find new policies through the state’s exchange, which is managed by the federal government.
Consumers could save money by shopping around for new insurance policies
Consumers are also being encouraged to shop around for insurance coverage. Doing so may save them money on their coverage plans. This is because insurers in the state, as well as those throughout the country, are raising premiums for 2016 coverage. Insurers are seeing greater financial losses from claims payments because several million new customers have purchased health insurance coverage over the past few years. These consumers are now using their coverage more regularly, which is pressuring insurers to raise premiums.
Co-ops throughout the country continue to fail due to financial strain
Several of the health insurance co-ops associated with the Affordable Care Act have failed. These non-profit insurers have struggled to generate the revenue they need to operate effectively. They also cannot repay the loans they received from the federal government, which puts them under a great deal of financial pressure.