Kentucky's ObamaCare "Cooperative" is insolvent

A Standard and Poor's research report issued this week finds the Kentucky Health Cooperative, an ObamaCare creation funded initially by federal dollars and then bailed out with tens of millions of dollars more last year, is insolvent.

The report analyzed health insurers' requests for risk corridor receivables. Those are funds supposed to be taken from profitable insurers and given to unprofitable ones under ObamaCare. Kentucky Health Cooperative booked more "receivables" expected to be coming from the risk corridor program than the company has in capital, which includes mostly federal loan and bailout funds.

According to the report, the Kentucky insurer booked an amount of risk corridor receivables equal to 117% of capital, more than every other insurer in the nation except one. The bad news for them and their customers is S&P estimates the risk corridor program is less than ten percent funded and there is no likelihood of Congress acting to make up the difference. That means the Kentucky Health Cooperative is toast.

Cooperative officials appear to be refusing all requests for comment and the Kentucky Department of Insurance has pulled down their web page that used to allow consumers to view rate increase requests.

"Public option" only insurer making ObamaCare sales

Governor Steve Beshear reports federally funded Kentucky Health Cooperative is the only health insurer in the state to make its projected ObamaCare sales numbers for 2014 as open enrollment nears its mandated end.

According to Beshear, the Cooperative has sold over 40,000 policies after predicting sales of 19,508. The credibility of the Governor's enrollment numbers is not very good, but in any event the Cooperative has made the most of their federal seed money and probably did outsell Anthem and Humana by a wide margin.

The Kentucky Health Cooperative is a new entity that was able to price their policies lower than their competitors thanks to a $58.8 million federal "loan" granted at their founding. It's too early to tell if the Cooperative has gained enough real customers to benefit from the horrible results of their competitors.

Kentucky Obamacrats shoot your watchdog

The Kentucky Health Cooperative made news today by sucking up another $65 million "loan" from federal taxpayers just one year after being formed as an ObamaCare health insurer with a $58.8 million loan. But this evidence of wild mismanagement is just the tip of the iceberg.

The Kentucky Health Cooperative, by far our state's biggest ObamaCare insurer, is systematically removing health insurance agents from the Exchange who warn consumers about the co-op's questionable business practices. Several hundred health insurance agents previously appointed to represent the co-op's ObamaCare policies have seen their appointments cancelled and agents seeking to do business under the new regime are being turned away, leaving consumers without an advocate when the co-ops' nonexistent customer service and increasing deductibles become apparent.

"Gov. Beshear said at the beginning of ObamaCare that Kentuckians needed to be running ObamaCare in Kentucky, but all that has done is fill the pockets of his friends like co-op CEO Janie Miller," said Tea Party activist David Adams. "And now the very Kentuckians who were in place to blow the whistle on abusive tactics used by the co-op are being removed. It's yet another outrage from a group of bureaucrats with an enormous capacity for outrageous behavior."

It's okay when Democrat profiteers bleed us dry

The Associated Press Frankfort Bureau ran a story today in the Louisville Courier Journal about Kentucky's largest ObamaCare profiteer, Kentucky Health Cooperative (KYHC) CEO Janie Miller, without mentioning she was responsible for setting up much of the state's ObamaCare scheme as a Beshear Cabinet official.

Miller left her position as Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services in February of 2012 and almost immediately resurfaced with KYHC and a federal "loan" of almost $60 million to start a public option health plan here.

Kentucky's other health insurers, Anthem and Humana, lag badly in sales to KYHC and may not even be able to stay in the market much longer. The cooperative's customer service is notoriously bad as is their treatment of providers. Giving them accolades for signing up lots of people on the strength of their massively subsidized premiums and allowing current Beshearocrat, Executive Director of Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange Carrie Banahan to provide the only commentary in the story -- she said premiums are lower because KYHC is a nonprofit and that the provider network is "more robust" -- is a pathetic excuse for journalism.

Media coverage of ObamaCare in Kentucky demonstrates relentlessly a total disregard for balance and honesty.