Do you ever wish you could be a fly on the wall when the “other side” is meeting to talk about health reform? Wouldn't it be interesting to hear what they have to say?

I had that opportunity not too long ago when I attended the first-ever NASHCO Conference in Washington, D.C. NASHCO stands for the National Association of State Health Cooperatives, and they got together to share ideas about the application process for the new nonprofit CO-OPs that might soon be competing with private insurance companies. The conference was very well organized and extremely enlightening – the speakers included current and former insurance commissioners, retired insurance company executives, a number of different consultants and HHS reps.

Their passion for the program was contagious. I arrived a skeptic but left a believer – this could work. I learned the “other side” isn't really the other side at all, and the sooner we accept that, the sooner we can stop fighting and start working together.

Consumer plans

Section 1322 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act creates an opportunity for Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans, a new kind of nonprofit coverage entity whose goal is to develop a more efficient way of providing health coverage and delivering care to Americans.