TRACK: Health Insurance

Consumer governed Health CO-OPs created under the Affordable Care Act (which now provide health insurance to over 1 million Americans), and other socially motivated payors, seek to make health insurance more affordable while increasing the quality of care by introducing value based provider reimbursement, patient centered primary care, patient wellness, health information technology, data analytics, and administrative efficiencies, among other reforms.  These innovations and market penetration require capital that is scarce for new entrants in the payor market place.  CO-OPs, for example, are provided finite capital through federal loans that has already been stressed in a number of states by high levels of enrollment. Innovation and long-term growth will be significantly enhanced if these new entrants can leverage capital and other resources from other for-benefit motivated stakeholders in this sector which, in turn, will find these new entrants to be receptive vehicles for piloting reforms.