Health care issues: The pros, cons and politics of health insurance cooperatives, in brieflook at key issues in the health care debate: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=8710631THE ISSUE: Are consumer-run co-ops a realistic alternative to a new government-run insurance option?THE POLITICS: The Democratic push for a government-run insurance plan to compete in the marketplace is running into brisk resistance in Congress. As a possible compromise, some lawmakers have proposed establishing nonprofit insurance co-ops instead of a public plan. As they see it, co-ops would offer the major advantages of a government plan without having the government in control. For some Republicans and moderate Democrats, this is more palatable than federal health insurance. It's far from clear, however, that the proposal can muster sufficient support. Many Democrats insist that only allowing the government to sell insurance in competition with private industry can keep costs down and broaden coverage to millions of the uninsured. Some of President Barack Obama's liberal supporters are upset by signs he might settle for co-ops instead of a government-run option.WHAT IT MEANS: As a nonprofit, member-owned group, each co-op would assemble a network of physicians and negotiate payment rates with them. Consumers weighing whether to join the co-op would decide whether its costs and coverage are better than those offered by private plans. The government would provide billions to get co-ops started and turn control over to the groups' governing boards. It's uncertain whether co-ops could bring as much negotiating clout into the marketplace as a government entity would. Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota, a leading proponent of consumer-owned health insurance cooperatives, says each group would need at least 500,000 members to succeed.
http://icaexpo.coop
