After the failure of more than half of the Affordable Care Act's 23 state health insurance co-ops — which received about $1.17 billion in federal loans — CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt Thursday told the Senate Finance Committee the administration is working to recoup the federal funds, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Slavitt said CMS is working with the Department of Justice to collect the money, and is taking steps to ensure the surviving co-ops remain solvent, according to the report.
He said the organization plans to soon provide guidance for co-ops to attract capital or merger partners, audit remaining co-ops after the end of open enrollment and hold a meeting with co-op leaders to discuss how to more evenly distribute risk, according to the report.
Members of the finance committee pressed Mr. Slavitt on why so many of the nonprofit co-ops collapsed and why problems were not detected sooner. The committee chairman, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) questioned the nonprofits' accounting practices, according to the report.
Mr. Slavitt did not directly respond, according to the report. However, he noted about 75 percent of Americans who had health insurance on a failed co-op have been able to maintain coverage on new plans, according to the report.
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