Changing the Face of Health Care

Bringing Member-Driven Health Insurance to New York, New Jersey, and Oregon through CO-OPs

We're excited to announce that Freelancers Union is sponsoring new, nonprofit, member-driven health plans in New York, New Jersey, and Oregon. This innovation, known as Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans (CO-OPs), brings back the classic meaning of "insurance" for today's workers: joining together to build collective security and mutual support, free from the tethers of the profit-driven health insurance industry.

CO-OPs are nonprofit health insurance plans that are focused on the needs of the insured, not on making a profit – a belief that is core to our work. Widely regarded as one of the most innovative cost-containment solutions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as the Health Care Reform Act), these nonprofit CO-OPs will compete with private insurers on the open market. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will provide $340 million in loans to the three CO-OPs we'll be sponsoring. They will be open to everyone, with financial help available to lower-income Americans.

Fortunately, we've got a good bit of experience providing insurance to the self-employed, whose only other options are prohibitively expensive individual plans. When we launched Freelancers Insurance Company (FIC) in 2009, everyone said it couldn't be done: the insurance industry was too dysfunctional, too expensive, and too complex. But we had an innovative vision, perseverance, talented staff and consultants, and a mission to bring the best possible benefits to our members. We raised $17 million in start-up funds to get FIC off the ground, and now, in its fourth year of operation, the social-purpose insurance company covers more than 23,000 New Yorkers at rates up to 40% less than other insurers.

CO-OPs are the future of health care in America – and the model to give tomorrow's workforce the independence they need to thrive.

Download a Fact Sheet to learn more about the CO-OPs being sponsored by Freelancers Union

CO-OP background:

  • CO-OP stands for Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan.
  • Thanks to $340 million in low-interest and no-interest loans from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Freelancers Union will sponsor CO-OPs in New York, New Jersey, and Oregon beginning in January 2014.
  • CO-OPs are private, nonprofit health insurers whose plans are designed to offer quality, affordable, consumer-friendly health plans in every state.
  • The government has set aside a total of $3.8 billion for CO-OPs in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as the Health Care Reform bill).
  • CO-OPs will be open to all comers, including independent workers typically shut out of the traditional healthcare market. Americans making less than 400% of the federal poverty level will be eligible to receive financial support from the government to pay for their CO-OP health plan.

How CO-OPs will work:

  • Nonprofit insurance plans in different states enter the market and compete with private insurers. This state-level market is called the Exchange, and it's designed to make it easier for consumers to shop for and understand insurance plans.
  • CO-OPs will level the playing field for individuals and small groups – who are ignored in the current health insurance market, which is largely geared toward large companies.
  • CO-OPs offer more, better, and less expensive health insurance options to consumers.
  • Freelancers Union expects to start enrolling people in the CO-OP in Fall 2013 and begin offering coverage in January 2014.
  • Freelancers Insurance Company health plans will not be impacted by CO-OPs at all. Enrollees on FIC plans can continue to get insurance through FIC as they currently are.

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