Wellmark Again Chooses Not to Participate In State’s Federally Facilitated Marketplace

Iowa’s largest insurer is again choosing not to participate in the state’s federally facilitated health insurance marketplace.

Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa and South Dakota June 20 announced that while it had planned to enter the insurance exchange this year, its concerns about the exchange were not resolved in 2014. A company news release said it believes waiting an additional year should give the program time to improve.

Traci McBee, Wellmark’s media relations manager, told Bloomberg BNA June 25 that as the marketplace continues to develop, the company has seen incremental improvements in enrollees’ front-end shopping experience. ...