Dive Brief:
- The failure of CoOportunity Health, which had 115,000 members in Nebraska and Iowa, has created challenges for former enrollees, who must now transition to other insurance carriers. Wellmark and UnitedHealth Group Inc. in particular are said to be processing "a tremendous number of groups," reports the Business Record.
- The mass enrollments have apparently stretched carriers to their limits; some of those who have switched to new carriers say they are still waiting for their insurance cards more than a week after their policies went into effect.
- Iowa's largest insurer, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, says it's "working diligently" to process new groups and individuals, and that it has dedicated extra resources to the transition.
Dive Insight:
Wellmark is in a unique position as the largest insurer handling the fallout from the first failure of a Co-Op created under the ACA.
According to Wellmark spokeswoman Traci McBee, the company has significantly increased its resources.
"Specifically, we have opened our call center and staffing over the last few weekends to expedite the handling of processing new groups and individual applications to get ID cards to members as soon as possible," McBee told the Business Record. "We've also proactively reached out to providers, pharmacists and agents to ensure they have the information they need so that Wellmark members are able to receive the services and care they need during this time."
CoOpportunity Health had 8,788 remaining members as of the first week of February who still need to move to a different carrier.