Co-Ops Moving Forward Despite Setbacks in Congress

The House Energy and Commerce Committee last week voted to zero out the unobligated funds left in the $3.4 billion program, which has already been slashed twice in budget negotiations from its original $6 billion appropriation in the ACA. The oversight subcommittee also announced it would investigate an estimated $845 million announced so far in subsidized loans to 10 CO-OPs operating in 10 states, citing a potential default rate as high as 50 percent.

The CO-OPs themselves are moving ahead despite these recent developments. “They’re just playing politics, and we’re out here in the real world, doing real work,” said Jerry Burgess, who is heading a Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan in South Carolina. “I’ve got a fiduciary responsibility to set up a new nonprofit, consumer-driven health plan in the private market, and I’m going to keep at it. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a Republican idea,” Burgess said.