Insurance Division seeks input on association health plans

/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/BR_web_311x311.jpeg

Iowa Farm Bureau members aren’t the only ones who could benefit from an association health plan bill that goes into effect July 1. The Iowa Insurance Division announced today it’s seeking comments to develop rules for the Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs) — a type of association health plan — authorized under Senate File 2349 signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds on April 2. “MEWAs can provide Iowa employers a meaningful way to band together to provide health coverage for their employees, who might otherwise be priced out of Iowa’s collapsed [Affordable Care Act] individual market,” Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen said in a release. “I want to hear ideas from all Iowa individuals, businesses and other interested parties on this.” The rules will apply only to the MEWAs that employers could potentially form, Ommen said, and will not apply to coverage that the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation will make available to its members through a non-insurance benefit plan to be administered by Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The Insurance Division will accept online comments and emailed comments through April 27. The division intends to submit draft rules to the Legislature’s Administrative Rules Review Committee for formal public comment once SF 2349 becomes effective on July 1.