Pretty informative piece on healthcare co-ops from CNN. I live in MN and didn't even know that HealthPartners was a co-op. I like the not for profit focus and I actually think more of these in various industries including banking would serve to balance out the all or nothing FOR PROFIT, FREE MARKETS IN EVERYTHING ethos that is becoming increasingly problematic.
The reason I like this idea of co-ops is because the power truly does reside with the people. As I understand it, if you are a member of HealthPartners you get a vote...on almost everything. And so as there CEO Mary Brainerd put it, there is NO incentive for them to jack up administrative fees to say pay C-level exces an extra million dollars each. And I would imagine that economies of scale kick in just the same with a co-op.
Check out the video for an interesting view.
