Portland Press Herald, ME - Maine Community Health Options will offer insurance through the federal marketplace to people throughout New Hampshire next year, a move made possible by a major federal loan and local success that has surprised industry experts and allowed the company to dominate the Maine market.
... Cooperatives are an often-overlooked component of the Affordable Care Act and were designed as an alternative to traditional insurance companies, especially in states where there might be limited choices. In the co-op model, the governing board is ruled by its members, and any profits are plowed back into operations. In a traditional insurance company, profits can be distributed to shareholders.
Co-ops exist in 26 states, according to the National Alliance of State Health Co-Ops. Through the health insurance marketplaces created by the federal law, where people can apply for subsidized benefits on healthcare.gov, the cooperatives offer plans against big players in the industry, such as Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and State Farm.
Nationwide, the co-ops have had varying levels of success, but health experts rated the co-op in Maine an overwhelming success.
Despite being a start up competing against longtime insurer Anthem, Maine Community Health Options captured 83 percent of the 44,000 Mainers who signed up for insurance on the marketplace in 2014, surprising state health care experts. The co-op and Anthem offered similarly priced plans, and yet most chose the new nonprofit over the established company.
“Maine was hungry for an alternative,” said Mitchell Stein, a Cumberland-based independent health policy analyst
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