Health Republic Insurance of New Jersey’s demise exposes flaws of Obamacare

Three years ago, the federal government provided a substantial loan to launch a new insurance company in New Jersey. Last month, the government caused potentially fatal problems for the same company by withholding $21.2 million the insurer was expecting to help pay for its Obamacare customers.

Health Republic Insurance of New Jersey will shut down for next year, forcing 35,000 people to find new insurance by Jan. 1.

The shutdown leaves just two companies doing business on HealthCare.gov, the Affordable Care Act marketplace for New Jersey. And it highlights the flaws of President Obama’s signature health law, as well as the difficulties of starting a new insurance company.

“Unfortunately, Obamacare and local market conditions have proven difficult … to survive in my beloved New Jersey,” Thomas Dwyer, the company’s interim CEO, wrote regulators late on the night of Sunday, Sept. 11, less than 24 hours before the state asked a judge to approve a takeover of the company. In his email consenting to the takeover, included in the court filings, Dwyer acknowledged that efforts by executives to save the company had reached a dead end.

Read more: http://www.northjersey.com/news/health-republic-insurance-of-new-jersey-s-demise-exposes-flaws-of-obamacare-1.1670566