We have another casualty among the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act-authorized consumer operated and oriented plans.
The Phoenix Business Journal reported late Tuesday that Meritus Health Partners, the insurance cooperative serving Arizona, is running out of money and will wind down operations. Meritus thus becomes the 12th of 23 Obamacare CO-OPs nationwide to fail.
CEO Tom Zumbotel told the business paper that Tempe-based Meritus was unable to raise enough outside investment to get back in good standing with the federal government by Dec. 1.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had barred the CO-OP from offering coverage on the ACA insurance marketplace for 2016 due to the company’s precarious financial position. Arizona insurance regulators also have tried to shut down Meritus.
