Health Insurance Articles
Why Health Insurance Cooperatives Might Be A Good Alternative To A Public Health Coverage Option
2010-04-22
Healthcare reform has sparked much heated debate. Almost everyone will agree that healthcare should be accessible and affordable. The contention swirls around how best that should be accomplished. It is difficult for those who don't have employer provided insurance to find affordable health insurance plans. Many people are left out of the cheapest health insurance due to a pre-existing condition. The proponents of public health insurance believe that every person, regardless of income, is entitled to quality healthcare. The opponents would like to see people covered but object to government run healthcare as a move toward the type of social democracies found in Europe.
Health insurance cooperatives provide an alternative to publicly funded insurance. An insurance cooperative operates under the same principle as credit unions and electric co-ops. It will provide insurance and care for its members. It is non-profit and, since it is controlled by its members and doesn't answer to shareholders, it can provide some of the cheapest health insurance. Under the new Healthcare Reform, these types of cooperatives are now called Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans (CO-OP). There is a very successful health insurance cooperative in Minnesota that can serve as a model of efficiency, low cost and innovative practices.
Besides the ability to offer some of the best health insurance plans, co-ops serve as an alternative to those who object to the current healthcare reform legislation, on moral grounds. Many Americans, not only resist, but are firmly against their dollars subsidizing federally funded abortion and embryonic stem cell research. The very nature of the CO-OP as being "consumer operated and oriented," means that the insurance provided will not violate the member's deeply-held convictions. Churches can form CO-OPs and provide insurance for their members that falls in line with their moral teachings. CO-OPs also provide an alternative for other conservatives who object to government intrusion into their healthcare. Some people also believe that the healthcare reform bill is unconstitutional. By taking advantage of affordable health insurance plans provided by a member-owned and controlled cooperative, they will not be supporting the government plan.
No matter what side of the aisle Americans find themselves on in the current healthcare upheaval, they may find the cheapest health insurance coupled with the best health insurance plans available through a health insurance co-op. Cooperatives make sense for people who'd like to feel they have a real voice in healthcare policy decisions and for those who find the over-the-top profits made by health insurance companies distasteful. Americans have always been known for their independence and love of freedom. Co-ops bring that independence and freedom to the insurance world by providing Americans a choice that traditional insurance does not.
