The organizers of the Vermont Health CO-OP have applied to the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation for the certificate the CO-OP would need to do business as an insurance company in the state.
Robert Simpson Jr., the CO-OP hearing officer, will hold a pre-hearing conference on the matter Nov. 26, officials said.
Simpson later will hold a public hearing on whether the CO-OP should be granted a license, and he will make recommendations about the matter to Steve Kimbell, the Vermont insurance commissioner, officials said.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced in June that the Vermont CO-OP could be eligible to receive about $34 million in loans.
The drafters of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) created a new type of nonprofit, member-owned health plan — a Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) – in an effort to increase the level of competition in the health insurance market.