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Iowa

Latest Headlines

Latest Headlines

Iowa Medicaid privatization plan pits savings against services

Iowa's plan to privatize its $4 billion Medicaid program is raising larger questions about whether steering beneficiaries to managed care companies is about improving their health or simply saving the state money.

Wellmark looks to regain dominance in Iowa, South Dakota

Just seven days into 2015, Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield is already hoping to regain its dominance in Iowa and South Dakota.

State takes control of Iowa's CoOportunity Health plan over financial concerns

The Iowa insurance department has taken control of the consumer operated and oriented  CoOportunity Health  plan because the insurer has insufficient capital.

Iowa's CO-OP pulls out of marketplace despite first-year success

Iowa's CoOportunity Health experienced early enrollment success last year, but the company has decided to pull out of the marketplace this year, reports  Employee Benefit News. It's the latest in a series of ups and downs for consumer operated and oriented plans.

Wellmark responsible for low enrollment numbers in two states

When it comes to Affordable Care Act enrollment success from this past year, Iowa and South Dakota sit on the very bottom of the list. In both states, only 11.1 percent of enrollees who qualified for subsidized coverage signed up, according to recent  data from the Kaiser Family Foundation.  

Judge upholds ban on telemedicine abortions

A ban on the practice of telemedicine abortions in Iowa, approved by the state's board of medicine last summer, has been upheld by a district judge.

Affordable Care Act grandfathering driving costs up, Blues say

The Obama administration's decision last fall to let consumers keep certain plans that weren't compliant with the Affordable Care Act may have led to some insurers proposing higher premiums...

How a critical access hospital aims to compete with big-city providers

A hospital in rural Iowa is partnering with a Des Moines surgeon to compete with its urban counterparts, according to the Des Moines Register.

Iowa gets partial approval for Medicaid expansion waiver

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has partially approved a waiver for Iowa to expand its Medicaid program, according to the  Des Moines Register. 

Feds reject Iowa charging premiums to poor Medicaid members

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services approved Iowa's partially privatized plan to expand Medicaid, which is more stringent than other states, but it rejected part of the plan that would have required very poor Medicaid members to pay premiums.