"While there are still many unanswered questions about exactly who will be held accountable for the cost of outstanding claims, New York State of Health, the state-run insurance marketplace, has assured consumers that they will not be charged for the amount they have already paid toward their annual deductible," Trautwein said. "Steps are also being taken to ensure continuity of care for expectant mothers as well as those in an ongoing course of treatment with a provider for a life-threatening or degenerative and disabling condition or disease."

Meantime, brokers are working overtime to locate new coverage for the dispossessed.

"The unsung heroes in all of this are the health insurance brokers who represent the policyholders and who are scrambling to find replacement coverage during their busiest season of the year – open enrollment," she said. She noted that many brokers hadn't been paid commissions since September due to Health Republic's financial difficulties. Trautwein said the Health Republic meltdown was the logical outcome of a health care experiment handed down from the nation's capital.

"The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provided more than $2 billion in loans to set up dozens of nonprofit co-ops as alternatives to major insurers. It's not surprising that many of these co-ops are unsustainable without expected government subsidies since many were underpriced and under-reserved. The solution to these failed co-ops isn't more government intervention and cost masking. It's reining in health care costs and implementing reforms based on market initiatives."