Talk about a cluster!  If you are in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee or (insert state that has probably been added in the past hour) I am feeling your pain over the co-op shutdown.     

In New York, we were under the impression we had until 1/1 to secure coverage for our clients, only to get an email around 4pm on Friday, October 30^th that Health Republic of New York was being shut down as of 11/30 by the state of New York.  As if it wasn't busy enough during open enrollment!  To add insult to injury, guess who hasn't been paid by the co-ops since September?  How we all love to work for free! 

What has been the silver lining for us in all this?  Bad brokers are revealing themselves more and more.  We were able to pick up about 10 new groups and about 20 individuals just because brokers didn't educate their clients and put them at ease.  You can't freeze like a deer in the headlights, people.  Take the opportunity to shine and outperform your competitors.