Petition filed to place Nevada Health CO-OP into receivership
Nevada Health CO-OP is struggling to the end.
The Nevada Division of Insurance said late Friday that it filed a petition in Clark County District Court to place the CO-OP into a conservation-rehabilitation receivership. If the court grants the petition, the division would take control of the CO-OP's assets, distribution of funds and administration.
CO-OP CEO Pam Egan said in August that the nonprofit insurer would shutter operations on Jan. 1, after a second year of high claims costs and limited growth projections for future enrollment made it "clear" the group would have a hard time providing "quality care at reasonable rates" in 2016.
Egan added that plans would stay in effect and claims and insurance broker commissions would be paid through Dec. 31.
"(Nevada Health CO-OP) is working responsibly and proactively with the Nevada Division of Insurance and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to ensure that we meet all deadlines and fulfill obligations to our current members," Egan said.
But officials with the Division of Insurance said Friday that they weren't satisfied with the CO-OP's strategy to finish out 2015.
A review of the insurer's "wind-down plan" has "raised concerns about the CO-OP's ability to successfully manage, account for and meet its obligations through the end of 2015 on its own," the agency said in a statement.
Division officials also said CO-OP members could continue using their 2015 plans to get the health care they need.
The CO-OP was created by the federal Affordable Care Act to provide competition among insurers in the individual coverage market. It borrowed $65.9 million from the federal government to get off the ground in 2012.
It has not made profits to pay back the loans: The CO-OP reported a $19.3 million operating loss in 2014, and losses of $22.7 million from January through June.
It's the fourth of 23 Obamacare CO-OPs to fail nationwide.
Contact Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com. Find @_JRobison on Twitter.
