Where some saw doom in federal health reform, Shaun Greene saw a business opportunity. Captivated by a little-known provision for health insurance cooperatives, he convinced a powerhouse group of industry leaders to start one in Utah.For now, Aarches Community Health Care is a business plan, which its founders will unveil Wednesday at a community forum in Taylorsville. But if endorsed by federal officials, the nonprofit health insurer would go live in 2013, luring consumers with the promise of better, cheaper health care.
Like electric, farm and dairy co-ops in rural parts of America, health co-ops, or "Consumer Operated and Oriented Health Plans," provide an under-produced good or service — in this case, affordable health coverage.
Their central aim is to force the industry to be answerable to consumers, to operate more efficiently and fairly. Unlike for-profit insurers, which must earn money for shareholders, co-ops are supposed to use their surplus to lower premiums or bolster benefits. Salt Lake Tribune
