Bruce Shutan

One key consumer-operated and oriented plan based in the Midwest recently lost the battle for hearts, minds and pocketbooks along the highly competitive landscape of an emerging online marketplace when it was forced to liquidate, but does that spell doom for other CO-OPs?

The Multi-State Plan program created under the Affordable Care Act may actually lead to further consolidation of the health insurance industry rather than increase competition through the public exchanges.

Some of the nation’s most foremost authorities on health economics and policy learned a painful – and ironic – lesson about their respective area of expertise recently when they were forced to pay more for their health care in 2015.

The many tradeoffs that health insurers had to make from both a regulatory and plan-design standpoint in order to adapt under the Affordable Care Act appear to be paying off as the landmark legislation approaches its five-year mark.

Technology has clearly revolutionized health care – from mobile apps that help employees stay fit and eat right to telemedicine that brings operational efficiency to treatment. But perhaps most compelling is the way it is helping elevate the open-enrollment experience in keeping with the intended consumer-friendly spirit of the Affordable Care Act.

Former president Bill Clinton once conveyed messages of hope by referring to a small town by the same name, and the place of his birth, in Arkansas. Once again, hope springs eternal in the Natural State – this time for preserving and advancing a model that other conservative regions could emulate in crafting a viable political alternative to Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act.

Another bullish forecast about private HIX growth estimates that the roughly 2.5 million current enrollees (excluding retirees) could triple in the coming year.

Two Republican-led states are to some extent placing pragmatism over politics when it comes to the HIX marketplace, though their respective solutions veer off in different directions.

Colorado’s health insurance exchange is under fire on a number of fronts, including an expanded audit passing the Senate and failed House attempt to disband the state-run HIX.

Some industry research has suggested that private exchanges will transform themselves into a clogged eight-lane freeway teeming with traffic within the next few years from a lonely country road less traveled today. But a recent published report argues that some of the nation’s top employers are now adopting a cautious approach.

Commentary: Re-enrolling in a health insurance plan isn't easy — even with advice from your broker, one Covered California participant finds.

The winter holidays weren’t so merry for CoOportunity Health, whose health plans were pulled in both the individual-market and SHOP exchanges in Iowa and Nebraska for 2015 as regulators review the startup’s financials.

While employers deal with ACA reporting requirements and communication campaigns that explain the public health insurance exchanges, some have turned to health care technology startups in hopes of elevating the open-enrollment experience for their employees.

Plan fully integrates behavioral health with primary care for more meaningful results.

Several state-run public exchanges got a shot in the arm from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which awarded $187 million in grants to help develop their respective operational visions before federal funding runs out.

John R. Graham, a senior fellow of the National Center for Policy Analysis, recently lauded the elimination of taxpayers’ liability for risk corridors made available to health insurers participating in the public exchanges.

More than a year after technical glitches on Healthcare.gov emboldened Affordable Care Act critics and fueled late-night talk show jokes, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has since forged partnerships with four digital platforms to help promote the current open-enrollment period.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. is poised for HIX-related growth in 2015 on the heels of solid third-quarter revenue.

Oregon officials are pledging to avoid 2014’s enrollment nightmare, which prevented the state-run HIX from fully launching online and led to the departure of six top officials connected to the exchange.

The HIX market has undergone a facelift over the past year in some states where hopes are running high that a 2.0 reboot will be just what the doctor ordered.