Kentucky Health Cooperative Hosts First-Ever Board of Director Election

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Dec 12, 2014, 04:30 ET

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Dec. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kentucky Health Cooperative, Inc., a nonprofit health insurer that will be governed by its members, today announced that three health plan members have been nominated and qualified to participate in the first-ever election of Board of Director seats.

The rules of a Consumer Oriented and Operated Plan, or health insurance CO-OP, whose start-up and solvency is funded by loans issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as authorized by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, require CO-OPs to transition from a formation board to an operational board of directors in which all Board members are elected to serve by the CO-OP's members over a two-year process.

This year's elections mean that in 2015 the Board will be expanded to add two new Board of Directors. "These two new directors will come from current health plan members." said Joseph E. Smith, Chairman of the Board of Directors. "Anyone now covered by Kentucky Health Cooperative health insurance and who is 18 years of age or older should vote."

"Members of the health insurance plan were able to nominate candidates to the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee, appointed by the Board of Directors Chairman, was charged with recruiting, qualifying, and selecting health plan members to run for open Board seats," said Leon Mooneyhan, Ph.D., Chair of the Nominating Committee.

Mooneyhan continued, "Nominations for Board positions occurred last month, and we went into that process with high confidence of identifying candidates well-positioned to fulfill the responsibilities of serving as a director. We were delighted to have over 40 nominations."

A contested election is now open. The top two nominees with the highest number of votes cast by qualified health plan members will fill two new Board of Director positions. Votes will be accepted in writing, by telephone and online. The deadline is December 24. Members will receive information by email and mail of the many options available to vote.

ABOUT KENTUCKY HEALTH COOPERATIVE

Kentucky Health Cooperative, serving all 120 Kentucky counties, is a nonprofit organization that will be governed by its members. It is dedicated to making health insurance available for all Kentuckians – individuals and families and small employer groups. It embraces an innovative, quality-focused clinical model that helps keep healthcare local, affordable and available. For more information, visit www.mykyhc.org.

Contact: Susan Dunlap
1-502-498-5539
[email protected]

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SOURCE Kentucky Health Cooperative