Wellmark Requests 8 Percent Increase In Non-aca Plans

Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield — the Iowa insurer that recently rejoined Iowa’s individual market — asked the Iowa Insurance Division Wednesday for a new rate increase on its grandfathered plans.Wellmark requested a new rate increase of 8.1 percent on average effective Jan. 1, 2019 for its grandfathered plans, or health insurance plans that predate the Affordable Care Act passage in 2010 and are allowed to exist under a provision of the law.As of April 2018, the Des Moines-based insurer has about 63,500 members in individual pre-ACA plans, according to the insurer’s filings to the insurance division.“The rate increase varies by plan, with a low of 5.3 percent and a high of 11.0 percent,” the filings state.According to the Iowa Insurance Division, there were 37,088 grandfathered plans in Iowa as of Oct.