Newsroom

Des Moines, Iowa — CoOportunity Health announces the results of its inaugural board of directors' election. Read full news release

Des Moines, Iowa — CoOportunity Health opens nominations for members to join the board of directors. Read full news release

Des Moines, Iowa — CoOportunity Health increases its membership as the end of the open enrollment period draws near. Read full news release

Des Moines, Iowa — CoOportunity Health adds another 15,000 members, achieving goals set for the end of 2016. Read full news release

Des Moines, Iowa — CoOportunity Health exceeds its first- and second-year membership enrollment goals. Read full news release

Des Moines, Iowa — The first member to join CoOportunity Health is introduced to the world! Read full news release

Des Moines, Iowa — The first members to join CoOportunity Health from Nebraska are introduced. Read full news release

Des Moines, Iowa — CoOportunity Health, in collaboration with OCi Financial Services & Insurance, Inc., launches a mobile retail center to travel across Nebraska. Read full news release

Des Moines, Iowa — The last piece of the regulatory puzzle fell into place. CoOportunity Health insurance products are approved by CMS and ready to be marketed. Read the full news release for Iowa and for Nebraska.

Des Moines, Iowa — More than 40 credit unions in Iowa and Nebraska are partnering with CoOportunity Health to offer affordable, consumer-friendly and high-quality health insurance options for individuals, families and businesses starting this fall.  Read full news release

Des Moines, Iowa — CoOportunity Health announces its collaboration with University of Iowa Health Alliance (UIHA) in bringing two exceptional plans to market for Iowans.  Read full news release

Des Moines, IA — CoOportunity Health announces its alliance with the Iowa and Nebraska Credit Union Leagues. Read full news release

Des Moines, Iowa — CoOportunity Health is excited to name 23 brokers and agencies that will work with them in Nebraska and Iowa.  Read full news release

Des Moines, Iowa — One week after receiving it's Certificate of Authority (license) from the Iowa Insurance Division (see news release below), CoOportunity Health gets its Certificate of Authority to do business in Nebraska. Read full news release

Des Moines, Iowa — CoOportunity Health gets its Certificate of Authority to do business in Iowa. Read full news release

Des Moines, Iowa – CoOportunity Health adopted as marketplace brand for Midwest Members Health. Read full news release

Des Moines, Iowa – Midwest Members Health approved as first Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) in Iowa and Nebraska; receives low-interest federal loans to support start-up operations. Read full news release

CoOportunity Health announces a strategic alliance with the Iowa Credit Union League and the Nebraska Credit Union League, which was covered by several national trade media outlets. Read more from Credit Union Insight June 3, 2013; CreditUnions.com June 3, 2013; Credit Union Times June 4, 2013; CUNA News Now June 4, 2013; the Credit Union Journal June 4, 2013; and the Credit Union Times (opinion editorial) June 5, 2013.

A look at the involvement of physician organizations in the creation of the 24 health insurance CO-OPs.  Read more

Perspectives from different states — including CoOportunity Health — about the budget cuts affecting the creation of future CO-OPs. Read more

You may have heard last week that funding for future health insurance cooperatives was cut as part of the fiscal cliff agreement signed into law. Please be assured the 24 health insurance CO-OPs that already have loan agreements totaling nearly $2 billion will not be affected by the new legislation. This includes the nonprofit CoOportunity Health, which received $112.6 million in loans to support startup and ongoing operations in Iowa and Nebraska.
 

CoOportunity Health continues to be focused on building an individual and small business product portfolio for Iowa and Nebraska residents and businesses. CoOportunity Health intends to sell individual and small business products both on and off the exchange, giving Iowans and Nebraskans new choices and options for health insurance. CoOportunity Health will be filing its products with the Iowa and the Nebraska Insurance Divisions this spring to sell in the marketplace on Oct. 1, 2013, for Jan. 1, 2014, effective dates.

Seven organizations will receive a total of $639 million in federal low-interest loans to launch new, consumer-governed health insurance plans in eight states, the federal government announced Tuesday. Read more

The Affordable Care Act creates a new type of nonprofit health insurer, called a Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan, or “CO-OP.”  CO-OPs are directed by their customers and designed to offer individuals and small businesses more affordable, consumer-friendly and high quality health insurance options. The CO-OP program offers low-interest loans to eligible non-profit groups to help set up and maintain these issuers.  Through December 21, 2012, a total of 24 nonprofits offering coverage in 24 states have been awarded over $1.980 billion.

Healthcare Cooperatives Promise to Increase Access To High Quality, Affordable Healthcare for All Americans. The National Alliance of State Health Cooperatives (NASHCO) applauded today’s U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announcement that $638,677,300 is being invested by the agency in seven health cooperatives serving eight different states. This is the initial round of federal loans to support these innovative cooperatives, which were established in Section 1322 of the Affordable Care Act. Several more funding announcements from HHS are anticipated throughout the year as more state-based cooperatives submit applications.  Read more

CoOportunity Health announces a strategic alliance with the Iowa Credit Union League and the Nebraska Credit Union League, which was covered by several local media outlets. Read more from the Omaha World-Herald June 4, 2013; The Des Moines Business Record June 4, 2013; and The Des Moines Register June 5, 2013

CoOportunity Health officially announced its licensure in Iowa, which was covered by several local media outlets. Read more from the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier March 28, 2013; the Lincoln Journal Star March 28, 2013, and March 30, 2013; The Des Moines Business Record March 28, 2013; The Des Moines Register March 29, 2013, and March 30, 2013; and the Omaha World-Herald March 30, 2013.

COO Cliff Gold chats with host Sean McGuire on America’s Health Care Challenge. Listen here

CoOportunity Health CEO David Lyons joins others to discuss how healthcare reform might and will impact rural Iowans and Nebraskans. Listen to the radio segment and read the article. Read more

Cliff Gold, COO of CoOportunity Health, along with CEO David Lyons, are featured in a series about people and news to follow in 2013. This article also ran in the December 23, issue of USAToday. Read more

David Lyons, a former Iowa insurance commissioner and economic development director, saw the potential to create renewed competition in the state’s healthcare market with the passage of federal healthcare reform legislation in March 2010. Read more

Healthcare cooperatives that are being launched in eight states, including Iowa, announced Tuesday they will receive a total of $638 million in loans from the Obama administration under the federal health insurance law. Read more

Nebraska is one of eight states where healthcare cooperatives are being launched with $638 million in loans from the Obama administration under the federal health insurance law. Read more

The federal government has approved the first healthcare co-op for Iowa that will be set up as part of the new healthcare reform law. Read more