One of the grand experiments hidden within the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act were low-cost insurance startups. Nevada Health Co-Op is among some two dozen consumer-oriented carriers authorized under the bill.
Some of these state health co-ops have struggled to gain traction, but Nevada’s is making a dent in the market. Nevada Health Co-Op CEO Tom Zumtobel says the nonprofit health exchange has signed up more than 15,000 people, for about 37 percent of the market.
Despite its own glitches, the health care co-op is expected to reach its first-year target of 30,000 enrolled Nevadans, Zumtobel said.
Supporters see nonprofits as the key the solving the nation’s health care problems, while opponents say these co-ops are an outdated experiment from the 1960s. Zumtobel says it is simply about managing the cost of care through advocacy.
GUEST:
Tom Zumtobel, CEO of Nevada Health Co-OP
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