Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
After Years Of Turmoil, Iowans Buying Individual Coverage Will Have Choices
Des Moines Register: Medica To Keep Selling Iowa Health Insurance, Competing With Wellmark
Iowans who buy their own health insurance will have at least three choices of carriers next year — after nearly going without any options for 2018. Medica, which is the sole carrier selling individual health insurance policies in Iowa this year, will continue doing so for 2019, an executive said Friday. Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield has previously said it would resume selling such policies for 2019. (Leys, 6/15)
In other insurance news —
The Star Tribune: Minnesota Health Plans Propose Higher Premiums For Small Businesses
Minnesota's largest health insurers for small businesses are proposing average rate increases next year of between 3 percent and 12 percent, according to numbers released Friday by state regulators. The report from the Minnesota Department of Commerce also shows that Minnetonka-based UnitedHealthcare, the nation's largest health insurer, is following through with plans announced last year to enter the state's small group market in 2019. (Snowbeck, 6/15)
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Anthem Slashes Reimbursement For Breast Pumps
Anthem Inc., one of the state’s largest insurers, has cut reimbursement for breast pumps, igniting fears about whether mothers will have access to adequate equipment that works for them at no extra cost. In April, Indianapolis-based Anthem started paying suppliers less for breast pumps that are sold to mothers throughout Anthem’s entire 14-state footprint. Anthem would not disclose how much they now pay for pumps, but a breast pump maker said it’s at least a 36 percent cut in reimbursement, to $95 from about $150. (Liss, 6/16)
