Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart on Thursday filed a petition in Polk County District Court seeking the liquidation of CoOportunity Health, a nonprofit health insurer serving Iowa and Nebraska residents. The insurer currently has an estimated $150 million in claims, which under the liquidation order would be paid by state guaranty funds operated by Iowa and Nebraska.

Gerhart, who obtained a court order placing the company into rehabilitation on Dec. 23, 2014, concluded in the petition filed Thursday that further efforts to rehabilitate the West Des Moines-based insurance cooperative would be futile. A hearing on the petition will be scheduled in February.

CoOportunity Health was approved and funded as a Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and began offering health insurance policies in October 2013 for 2014 plan year coverage. The liquidation petition notes that CoOportunity Health’s liabilities exceed its assets. Most of its assets consist of accounts receivable from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which will not be received until late this year.

As of Dec. 31, 2014, CoOportunity reported cash and invested assets of approximately $13 million, and the company has been unable to obtain additional operating funds. CoOportunity currently has liabilities including incurred but not reported claims of at least $150 million.

Sen. Chuck Grassley and U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack have each called for a federal investigation into the health cooperative’s failure and why it could not receive funding to continue operating.

During the liquidation, Gerhart will wind down the company’s operations under court supervision, and health insurance guaranty associations in Iowa and Nebraska will assume responsibility for paying the claims of CoOportunity’s health care providers. The petition and FAQ’s regarding CoOportunity’s situation are on the Iowa Insurance Division website.