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NM Health Connections Partners With For-Profit Insurer

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New Mexico’s not-for-profit, low-cost insurance cooperative is selling part of its business to a for-profit insurer.

The company hopes the sale will help buffer against uncertainty around the future of the Affordable Care Act.

New Mexico Health Connections is the state’s only insurance co-op. It sells discounted plans to individuals and groups on the state exchange. But it has had a tough time raising cash in recent years, and this week announced it would be partnering with Virginia-based Evolent Health as a way to stabilize its finances.

Health Connections CEO Martin Hickey said the company will keep operating as normal, and that individual customers won’t see any changes to their plans or deductibles. And he said the partnership with Evolent Health will help Health Connections grow to cover more people in the future.

It’s too late to keep premium rates from increasing in 2018, Hickey said, but the deal will help keep them down after next year.

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KUNM's Public Health New Mexico Project is funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the McCune Charitable Foundation. Find all stories from the project at www.publichealthnm.org

Ed Williams came to KUNM in 2014 by way of Carbondale, Colorado, where he worked as a public radio reporter covering environmental issues. Originally from Austin, Texas, Ed has reported on environmental, social justice, immigration and Native American issues in the U.S. and Latin America for the Austin American-Statesman, Z Magazine, NPR’s Latino USA and others. In his spare time, look for Ed riding his mountain bike in the Sandias or sparring on the jiu-jitsu mat.
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