In a surprise move that everyone saw coming, ColoradoHealthOP, one of Colorado’s largest health insurers, has been essentially shut down by Colorado’s Division of Insurance leaving 80,000 Coloradans scrambling for health insurance.  According to 9News, here is the rationale for shuttering the co-op:

“…the cooperative relied on federal support, and federal authorities announced last month they wouldn’t be able to pay most of what they owed in a program designed to help health insurance co-ops get established.”

So, it sounds like the federal government basically “defaulted” on its promises to the co-op. And to Coloradans. As usual.  Republican Sen. Cory Gardner, who lost his own health plan due to Obamacare, offered this statement:

“Once again, through absolutely no fault of their own, tens of thousands of Coloradans are facing the loss of their health insurance coverage. Losing coverage puts tremendous stress on individuals and on families, and seeing it happen as a result of poor planning and bad policy is infuriating. It’s critical for Colorado HealthOP to ensure that all outstanding claims are paid in a timely fashion and that a smooth transition into new coverage is found for those losing their insurance.

“This failure can be added to the very long list of Obamacare’s broken promises. Taxpayers are on the hook for millions of dollars in loans given out to the CO-OP, money that will likely never be repaid. The years since Obamacare’s passage have been marked by crisis after crisis in healthcare, and it’s far past time for a new plan.”

Of course, this is terrible for the 80,000 Coloradans who are now looking new insurance, but this also is bad news for Sen. Michael Bennet, who supported Obamacare. Nonetheless, if the DOI thinks releasing this information a full year before the election will help Bennet, they only need look at former Sen. Udall in 2014, who fell hard despite the best efforts of his friends at DOI.