It's short for health insurance "cooperative, " and it's a phrase Americans are getting accustomed to hearing these days as lawmakers point to the co-op model as one possibility in the debate over health care reform.

CNN: Dissecting a health care co-op

Earlier this week, I took Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson to task for a remarkably ill-informed and highly cynical op-ed piece he wrote in the Wall Street Journal attacking health care reform on its one-year anniversary.

FORBES: Wisconsin GOP Senator Reveals Embarrassing Prejudice In Attack On Health Care Reform

Because the Co-Op would become so large in the sensitive business of taking deposits, with care of tens of billions of pounds of savings for many millions of customers, it would be forced to change its corporate structure and governance, and dedicate more capital to banking, to protect depositors from losses.

BBC: The threat to Co-op��s plan to be a bigger bank

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) must establish a Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) in every state to compete as a nonprofit-like entity against health care insurers.

FORBES: CO-OP Health Plans A Fiscal Cliff Victim

"On television now there's a lot of talking about co-ops, but I didn't realize this was a co-op, " Nistler says, adding that, nonetheless, he's been satisfied with the care he's received.

CNN: Dissecting a health care co-op