Health Republic of New York — a nonprofit insurance co-op formed under the Affordable Care Act — abruptly closed last November. Now the FBI may be investigating why, according to NewsDay.com.
In late September, New York and federal regulators ordered Health Republic to stop selling policies by the end of 2015. One month later, the New York Department of Financial Services announced Health Republic would close at the end of November, leaving 200,000 New Yorkers looking for coverage.
In December, New York Rep. Lee Zeldin (R) sent U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch a letter asking for "a thorough criminal investigation" into "what, if any, illegal actions" caused Health Republic to shut down, according to the report.
Rep. Zeldin recently received a response stating his request had been forwarded to the FBI. "The FBI will determine whether an investigation is warranted," said Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik in the response letter.
A spokeswoman from the FBI didn't comment on how long the investigation would take, according to the report.