Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart has announced that beginning tomorrow, March 7, 2015, the Iowa and Nebraska Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations will begin paying health care providers more than $80 million in outstanding eligible claims for health care services provided to CoOportunity Health members in Iowa and Nebraska.

“We’re pleased that providers in Iowa and Nebraska will be paid for the health care services they provided to CoOportunity policyholders,” Gerhart said. “As we have stated previously, these guaranty funds are in place to protect impacted Iowans and Nebraskans. All providers under contract with CoOportunity that offered health care services will be paid up to $500,000 per individual for claims submitted to CoOportunity.”

The Iowa Insurance Division continues to work to transition people in Iowa and Nebraska out of CoOportunity Health. Nebraska has 11,135 remaining CoOportunity Health members while Iowa has 2,619 remaining members as of March 5, 2015. The Iowa Insurance Division is projecting that money recouped from the federal reinsurance, risk corridor and risk adjustment program on behalf of CoOportunity Health will be used to help pay back the Iowa and Nebraska Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations and other outstanding creditors.