DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa's leading health insurer will wait a year before participating in the state's new health exchange due to concerns about problems that could arise with its implementation in the early going, company's CEO said Monday.
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield CEO John Forsyth said the company's decision to wait until 2015 to join the exchange wasn't financially motivated, and that even though the company will miss out on new customers who buy policies through the online marketplace, the company wanted to ensure it can continue offering the quality of service that it currently does.
"The primary reason, we didn't feel we were going to be able to guarantee the quality of experience they are accustomed to with us," Forsyth said. "We didn't think the first few months would be very smooth."
Six other companies have applied to participate in Iowa's exchange, including two — Coventry Health Care of Iowa, Inc. and CoOportunity Health — that would offer coverage to individual buyers throughout the state, Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart said. The other four companies have applied to offer plans with regional limits or that apply only to group insurance. No premium details were released.
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