I am calling on behalf of the rate increase for Wellmark plans. All of them in general, a 12 % increase is not ideal. Insurance is expensive enough as it is and more often than not, all individuals find that their insurance doesn't cover as much as what we thought it does, making it even more expensive. I simply cannot afford a 12 % increase on my insurance, and I only pay for a single individual plan.
Logan
I received a letter about my Welmark proposed base premium rate increase today and the public hearing. Is there anything else you need to know about that? Wellmark Health plan of Iowa has asked permission to increase the base premium rate by 12.6 %. I'm calling because I'm a retiree on the ACA plan, and I already pay, I mean the full cost of that plan is eight to $900 a month, so a 12 % increase for its retiree to pay. I have from 60 to 65 until I get on Medicare. So that's a lot for me. It seems our rates just keep going up, up, up, and there's NO relief. And other countries don't have to pay all this money for medical care. And I'm worried that the budget bill in Congress might have impacted it, so I called my senator Grassly and representative none to discuss it with them. But I do not agree with this in rate rate increase. I cannot afford it, and that's a lot for one year or 12 %. That's a lot for retiree's budget. So what are we doing to curve these costs? What are we doing to make it reasonable? It seems like we're turning back the clock. I mean, everything I've heard about the budget bill, people are gonna lose coverage in mass numbers for Medicaid. We're gonna go back to, to when, before ACA, when so many people were uninsured or can't even afford it. We're going backwards in time. So NO, I don't agree with this rate increase. My name is Lori Runkle again Ankeny Iowa. I'm on the Wellmark Health Plan.
Lori, Ankeny
12.6% is too much of an increase for our premiums. We had a fairly sizable increase for this year already. I can see a 6% increase, but no more. Please consider us consumers who aren’t flush with income.
Jon S.
I am currently working at a family run nursery and garden center business in Cedar Falls, IA. I enjoy helping our customers with my expertise in the field of horticulture. Because of the rising costs facing the independent small business that I work for, they are not able to provide me with health insurance. It is a struggle for me to pay for my own health insurance through Wellmark via the affordable care act, even on the sliding scale based on my wages. I fear that the proposed rate increase of 12.6 percent would be more than I could afford. I would have to choose whether or not to go without insurance or to give up other necessities. I am already living as frugally as I possibly can while working as hard as I possibly can, putting in as many hours as I am allowed to at my job, never missing a day of work.
I believe that Wellmark should also operate their business as conservatively as I run my household budget. Then, we would be able to continue with the status quo. If not, I will have to forgo health care, or dental visits or other essentials of my life. I have no discretionary income to part with.
In addition, I do my best to eat well, exercise and avoid stressors that would cause me to be a burden to Wellmark. I believe that Wellmark should reexamine their books and make necessary cuts as I have to do as well as the business that I work for does.
LuAnn E.
I just received a letter regarding Wellmark's proposed 12.6% increase. This amount is well above the inflation rate. I do not believe this is right and should not be allowed. Health care should not be a luxury which it is certainly becoming. Please do not let Wellmark have this outrageous increase.
Nancy G., Sioux City
I'm on disability, and I only make $1600 a month and you're trying to raise my price, I find that aborent, especially when I didn't go with Medicaid or Medicare because Medicaid, they could take my home, which I've worked very hard for. And any assets that I may or may not have. No, I don't want it raised. What's the purpose of it being raised? In fact, I'm going to have to call because a procedure that you ok you charged me for. It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. No. Do not raise the rates. This is Iowa.
Jean Marie W.
Dear Consumer Advocacy Officer & Commissioner:
Oh, where do I start?! I know this is long, but please read it so you can understand where I’m coming from and where those on a similar but different journey are in life. Of course, I’m against this rate increase. Let’s make this clear. Wellmark, Inc. is a mutual insurance company meaning it is owned by its policyholders; individuals and groups who have insurance policies. Last I checked, I am an individual who is a policyholder. This should mean that since I’m a policyholder, I own a piece of Wellmark and should absolutely have a say in this proposal as do all of the other policyholders, yet Wellmark is going to the Iowa Insurance Commissioner to get approved, rejected or to negotiate a rate increase. The Iowa Insurance Commissioner’s office is paid for by the State of Iowa, largely with taxpayers money, those same individuals of the State of Iowa that are policyholders.
I don’t feel when Obama put this into place, he would have envisioned individuals paying such a huge cost for insurance. It was called the Affordable Care Act for a reason and its official name is Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. I do not feel protected as a patient nor do I feel this is affordable as it is. While this act and subsidies made it better for some, there are still many that have fallen through the cracks. I feel as one of those people.
I know there are thousands of stories, but I can only share my journey. I worked for the same company for just shy of 31 years. I had some medical issues arise where I found out I’m pretty much allergic to almost everything. I had to change everything I was using from products in the home (which was hard to find ones I could use; had to order most online) to prescriptions and had to limit things in my internal and external environment which is hard to do when you can’t always control your environment or those in your environment.
I already had depression from another issue, and this issue made that worse because of the intense itching from my allergies. I developed anxiety and panic disorder and was having daily headaches and migraines to the point where I had to leave my job. I had to get a counselor on board to deal with current and past issues causing my physical, mental and emotional health to continue to decline. I also lost my mother which was devastating. Slippery slope which causes one big domino effect.
I had always had health insurance through my company and while those rates would increase a little each year, the premiums weren’t as high as I pay as an individual outside of a company. When I quit my job, we went under my husband’s health insurance through his employer. That was great until it wasn’t. In 2018-2019, I dealt with multiple health issues. In 2019, I lost my mother. In 2020, I had to quit my very stressful job, we dealt with Covid and my daughter went off to college (only an hour away, but still having an empty nest was hard). In 2021, my husband of 30+ years asked me for a divorce out of the blue and lost my health insurance. I thought Cobra was too expensive, so I went through an agent and got coverage on Marketplace.
I had some taxable income the next year, so I was able to get some subsidies to help but spousal maintenance is not taxable so this meant the following years I had to carry the burden of the full cost of health insurance premiums plus the cost of prescriptions. In 2022, out of the blue, I lost my sister, my support system. And in 2023, my daughter moved out of state, approx 21 hours and 1500 miles away. As you can imagine, I had spiraled, crying uncontrollably every day. I didn’t even know what I was grieving because I had so many losses in such a short timeframe. In 2024, I found out that my former husband got back with the person who he had an affair with 7 years into our marriage which caused my depression to begin with and have lost two of my fur babies so far this year.
I make it out of my house to go to my counselor, other doctor appts, pick up groceries and prescriptions and get my animals to the vet and hair appts as needed. Some days I find it hard to even face the day. There is no way at this point I can ‘contribute’ to society by having a job between emotions, health issues from headaches/migraines, anxiety/panic attacks to my stomach being so upset, I can’t be far from home. I used to be a full-time amazing employee, a great mom and wife who in addition to a full-time job took care of my daughter, attended all of her activities, took care of the household, took care of my parents when needed to now just a broken shell of a person.
Life happens and so many people have more serious issues than I do. That doesn’t make me feel any better because I’m also an empath and just feel bad for them too. I don’t smoke, drink or do drugs. I’m a pretty good faithful person who enjoys helping others, but I can’t seem to help me. I am trying with my counselor’s help and joined a divorce support group, and have finally started reaching out to a few people but the process is very slow. I’m just explaining here why I’m not working at this time and can not qualify for the subsidies.
Here is the problem and flaw. I have an income from spousal maintenance. It counts as income for Medicare/Medicaid, which I make too much for. That is fine. No offense, but I don’t want to be on Medicaid. I don’t mind paying a fair share/cost-sharing, but the amount of $938/mo for a premium is far too high for one person plus I have to pay for medications, co-pays, co-insurance on top of that and dental through a separate company. I even purchased my own CPAP machine because it was going to be almost double the cost if I went through insurance. HUH?! Some things have no common sense to them. Right now, I get $36,000/year (not taxable). That’s it. If Medicaid is going to count my income, then so should the Marketplace.
Regardless if my income is taxable or not, it should still qualify me for subsidies, but the problem lies between state and federal. Federal will only offer subsidies on taxable income and if you don’t have a taxable income, they kick you to the state you live in, but when your income counts at the state level even though it isn’t taxable, then I make too much. DO YOU SEE THE CRACKS IN THE SYSTEM?!! But what system in America isn’t broken?!
Now, let’s talk about Wellmark specifically who has a President and CEO that brings in a paycheck of $894,811-$1,130,849/year. The Team Leaders up to the Executive Director all make into the 6 figures from $103,000 to $211,000, and those are just the ones I looked at. Now let’s take a peek at Wellmark’s financials. I am not a financial expert, but from the last financials I could get my hands on, it appears Wellmark has capital and surplus to the tune of about $2.6 BILLION!! I guess that isn’t enough to line the pockets of greed. I don’t know what else to call it.
From the last financials I could see, it appeared from one of the last premium increases, the amount Wellmark made off of those premium increases alone was (not total premiums, just the percentage of the premium increase) was $38,842,278. That same year the prescriptions cost went up by $7,271,486, but the hospital/medical benefits actually went down by $2,602,975. That alone, without taking anything else into consideration, Wellmark seems to be ahead $34,173,767 with their last premium increase alone. They claim both the cost of medical and prescriptions are rising. Everything is. But those of us who have no one left to pass that increase off to have it coming from everywhere, not just one place…every place!
Well, then I say do something about THAT ROOT CAUSE ISSUE and stop raising our rates. No one’s income can keep up with the cost of every rising cost of every single thing. SOMEONE needs to stand on top of some rooftop and say ENOUGH! Stop when I say when. I say WHEN!! The cost of everything is out of control and someone needs to stop it somewhere!!!! Wellmark, be part of the solution, not an added cause for more stress and more health issues for your policyholders!!!!
You are losing policyholders because you keep raising your prices. Hello Mr. President & CEO, Mr. Cory R. Harris!!! Are you listening to your policyholders or are you in your nice office/home lining your pockets and the floor with your million dollar salary. If I have to choose a hill to die on, it will be on Principle Hill!! I’m tired of sitting by quietly. Do SOMETHING GOOD for your policyholders! ALL of them! Wellmark says they don’t discriminate. Really?! I beg to differ. I have to pay a higher premium based on my age. That is AGE discrimination, is it not!? Someone in their 20’s-30’s could be drinking, smoking and doing drugs. I do none of those things. I don’t make risky decisions with my life like they do, but I pay more than them because I’m older. Does wisdom not have a place and count for something.
Apparently, I fall into some ‘Rating Class’/‘Group’. If the company is categorizing us policyholders, that is also discrimination. No offense is meant to any of the following folks, I am just using as an example. State employees, military personnel (thank you for your service) and Native Americans (yes, America did you wrong) all receive special benefits because of who they are or where they serve. I’m not saying special benefits there are not deserved and don’t know what all of those special benefits are, but if there was just a little cost-sharing there, a little would add up to a lot. And I’m a person who thinks we need to do more for our Vets, for our homeless and for those that have mental health issues that fall through the system’s cracks.
I certainly do not have all of the answers because I do not know how everything works, and if you do one good thing over here, how does it affect something else ‘over there’. I get that it isn’t easy, but one person needs to start a movement somewhere. I don’t think I know enough to be that person, but I know enough when things are wrong, when things are going in a horrible direction for the majority of the country. I know that the rich keep getting richer and what used to be middle class is going to be homeless soon if something isn’t done on every level from insurance to housing to food.
Every human being should have some basic rights: clean water, safe healthy food, a home, clothing, an education and affordable healthcare, treatments and medications. If everyone had those things, we would be a much better society. I truly feel that if all of the basic ‘needs’ of humans were met, there would be more productive people, less crime, less mental, emotional and physical issues. Again, everything is a domino effect! Wellmark receives state tax benefits, the federal subsidies and rebates that benefit everyone from the Big Pharma companies. Wellmark receives money from governmental entities in Iowa and South Dakota like Medicare contracts, state employee benefits, Wellmark Foundation Grants and TRICARE contracts.
The Solution: It says the complex relationships and varying interests of the following ‘players’ make it an ongoing challenge to achieve truly affordable prescription drugs for all patients. Everyone should be able to read between those lines. So the ‘players’ below are the ones that can all affect real change and make the cost of our prescriptions truly affordable for everyone.
My question is who on this list is not willing to play ball. How about we stop with the I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine and deals under the table crap and solve the damn issue. You can all do this and whoever on this list below isn’t wanting to help out their fellow human beings, well, let’s just say no amount of money that is lining your pockets here on earth will help you when judgement day comes. I’m pretty sure God doesn’t accept bribes! Just remember when you see fire and brimstone, you will know when you had the chance to help society and failed. For those that don’t know, the list of those that can actually help bring down the cost of our prescriptions (which would also help decrease the cost of insurance); domino effect are:
PBM’s -Pharmacy Benefit Managers
Health Insurance Companies…..HELLO WELLMARK….you have the power to help bring the cost of prescriptions down and the cost of our health insurance down, but you are choosing to raise the cost of premiums?!
US Dept of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS)
Veteran’s Health Administration (VA)
Dept of Defense (DOD)
I’m sure there are many others not listed above, but you know who you are and are ALL on the hook to do something to help. You choose to not do anything or look away or not ‘play ball’; any of you not wanting to help bring the cost of prescriptions and health insurance costs down to an affordable amount will all be guilty. Be a part of the SOLUTION!! If you are part of the problem, get the hell out of the way and let those who actually care about others do their job to bring these prices down. The greed for money and power needs to stop! Personally, I believe this: You can not be a person in a position of power and also be wealthy. That doesn’t work. You can either have a position of power OR be wealthy; you shouldn’t have both. Money can do lots of good or it can corrupt.
So I ask the Consumer Advocacy Officer & Commissioner, Ms. Sonya Sellmeyer and Mr. Doug Ommen, to do just that….ADVOCATE for the consumers!! Please be part of the solution and not the problem, and by all means, share my thoughts with Wellmark and anyone else that can be part of the solution. While our State Capital is beautiful, I really don’t want to go stand on the steps of our Capital Hill or on the steps of DC’s Capital Hill. While I believe in people’s right to protest, I still believe in the power of the written word. It only works though if someone that matters is reading it.
I go through an agent and sign-up during the enrollment period on Marketplace or assuming that is where my agent is online when I’m with her. It is for Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Iowa. I have to sign-up for the Gold plan basically for the prescriptions. That is why I feel if someone somewhere in the chain can do something about the price of prescriptions, it would go a long way to helping out our cost. The problem is everyone is making way too much money for that.
So it all falls on the consumer who has no one left to pass the cost off to. Giving you an example: I had to get a CPAP machine last year. If I went through insurance it was going to cost me around $1900+. If I bought it on my own, it would be almost half that. I bought it on my own. I was disgusted. I am one person, one plan. I went into so much debt last year because I had the bronze plan and didn’t catch one little blurb that said the deductible had to be met before name brand drugs were covered. Over $9,000 later, I had my out of pocket met. Plus the cost of the CPAP and supplies. And that doesn’t include what I pay separate for dental and had to have two crowns plus glasses on top of it which I have no coverage.
More than half of my income went to healthcare and insurance last year. And I’m just one story out of how many that have not been told. Does no one realize in their silos and penthouses and mansions that it’s not just any one thing going up in cost. EVERYTHING is out of control when it comes to prices. The homeless situation is only going to get worse across the entire country. Nothing will get done about that either until they start putting their homeless encampments at the entrance of the home of every person in charge of raising the cost of everything.
I also find it bothersome that other countries pay far less for their meds than we do. That just tells me too many companies here in America are far too greedy to do anything to help lower the cost of anything in this country. It’s just sad. Do they think this is going to help the rates of suicide or the mental, emotional or physical health of anyone? Like me. No, because they want that. More money in their pockets. It is a sick cycle. And no one feels their voices are being heard or worse yet, not even cared about.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter,
Lisa
I am writing to express my strong opposition to the proposed 12.6% increase in the base premium rate requested by Wellmark Health Plan of Iowa.
I am a husband, a father to a one-year-old child, and a foster parent to a 20-year-old. Like many Iowa families, we are already navigating rising costs in every area of life — from housing to childcare to basic necessities. An increase of 12.6% in our health insurance premiums would add more than $100 per month to our expenses. This amount may seem small in isolation, but for my family, it is a serious financial burden — one that stretches us beyond what our budget can reasonably handle.
Wellmark provides health coverage for both my wife and me. We value this coverage and recognize the importance of maintaining access to healthcare. However, this proposed increase feels disconnected from the economic realities that families like mine are facing. We are not asking for special treatment — only for fairness and compassion in the rate-setting process.
I urge the Commissioner to closely scrutinize Wellmark’s proposal and consider negotiating a lower increase, if any at all. Approving this hike would force my family to make difficult choices between health coverage and other essential needs. This is not the kind of choice any family should have to face.
Thank you for taking the time to listen to the concerns of the people this decision will directly affect. I hope you will stand with Iowa families and reject this unaffordable rate increase.
Andrew, Waukee
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Wellmark Health Plan of Iowa’s request to increase its base premium rates by 12.6 percent for the 2026 plan year. I am a full-time worker in West Des Moines, but despite working full time, I still live paycheck to paycheck. Too often I’m forced to put off care because my plan doesn’t cover everything I need—and making it more expensive simply isn’t an option.
My concerns are:
- Out-of-Pocket Gaps: There are many essential services and medications my plan doesn’t cover, which already leave me with large bills. Another rate increase will only widen those gaps.
- Household Budget Strain: At my income level, even a modest percentage bump forces impossible choices between bills, groceries, and health care.
- Corporate Profits vs. Working Families: Insurance companies are reporting healthy earnings. It feels wrong to shift those costs onto hardworking Iowans who can’t afford any more.
I respectfully ask the Division to:
- Scrutinize the 10.7 percent medical-trend factor to ensure it isn’t inflated beyond Iowa’s actual cost experience.
- Reduce or reject the increase in administrative and tax-related components that would further burden policyholders.
- Prioritize affordability over insurer profit margins, so that coverage remains accessible to working-class families like mine.
Thank you for considering my perspective. I urge you to limit any rate increase to a level that protects Iowans from having to choose between basic living expenses and essential health care.
Kayla E.
You are based on income, and you want to increase the rates to 12.6%, people do not get that type of pay rise each year. I don’t even get a 4% pay raise and you are wanting to go up 12.6%. I am already paying $205 a month which is half of my paycheck. With my bills and being single, and the health problems that I have and I am a manager and I am unable to work overtime. You guys want to raise it 12.6% and with the payrises I do get, I don’t benefit. So the extra $40 is going to insurance plus more. I don’t drive, I don’t have a car, I don’t have insurance on a car. I barely make it with my bills as is. If you want to raise it, make it a small percentage so people can afford it. I have lived in many states, and I have never seen this much of a hassle in the rates going up. I can understand that things go up, I can barely keep up with my bills. This is an income based product, how can you increase it so much?
Christy, Sioux City
I would just like to, I guess state my disapproval of this health increase. I don't, I don't agree with it. I don't know. I don't know what else you need to know. But anyway, I'm voicing my disapproval.
Michelle D.
We, my wife and I, oppose Wellmark's proposed increase to their base premium rates because the rate increase will not only negatively impact our family's health, it will negatively impact many, if not most, covered by Wellmark health insurance due to adverse impact to healthcare affordability - for example, my wife and my base premium rate would increase by approximately $100.00 per month/$1,200.00 annually which means less money in our budget that would have normally went towards medical service copays and, more importantly, affordability of critical medication due to less financial resources to cover costs of prescription copays. This means people will be forced into having to make difficult life & death choices due to deciding between seeking out healthcare services or delaying care due to cost prohibited affordability that would be created with the proposed insurance premium because personal incomes are stagnant or do not increase fast enough to offset the cost of the proposed rate increase, let alone the cost of living in general. My wife and I implore the Iowa Insurance Division and the Iowa Insurance Commissioner to outright REJECT Wellmark's proposed increase to Base Premium Rates!
William L.
I am writing in response to your recent notice requesting my permission to raise my monthly premium by more than 12.5%. I do not consent to this increase.
I am currently paying $1,013 per month — an amount that is already nearly equivalent to my mortgage. I carry this private insurance because I lost my job but still need coverage, as I have children and chronic health conditions, including asthma.
Despite the high cost, I have faced repeated barriers when trying to access prescriptions, including having to fight for approvals — only to then receive no coverage at all for the medication once approved so I cannot afford the medications. This is unacceptable for a policy at this price point.
I respectfully but firmly oppose this proposed increase and urge your organization to reconsider the significant financial burden it places on individuals and families like mine. In a time when wages are not increasing, it is unreasonable to expect policyholders to absorb such a steep rise in premiums. If the cost of coverage is rising by over 12%, can you clearly demonstrate a comparable increase in the value provided — such as improvements in prescription approvals, procedure access, or overall quality of care? As it stands, many of us contribute far more in premiums than we receive in actual benefits. Transparency is essential: Where is this additional money going, and how does it directly benefit the insured?
If you are asking my permission, truly asking meaning you'll take what I have to say into consideration -- no, permission not granted.
Talli L.
Please deny the Wellmark requested 12.6% increase. Families in Iowa cannot afford their health insurance premiums now, and this will really make things worse for most working families.
Melissa B.
There's NO point calling and expressing an opinion of not wanting the rate to go up any higher because you're gonna raise it anyway. And the world wonders why there's Nintendo characters running around. Thank you.
Connie, Sac County
I believe a 12.6 rate increase is ridiculous, and I'm absolutely against that type of increase. A tiered increase over a period of years might be more acceptable, but what will we look at in 2027? Another 12.6 % increase will, in a period of a few years, we'd be paying a hundred percent more. We need to slow it down, slow them down and put some trust back in the system.
George W., Marshalltown
I am a member of Blue Cross Blue Shield, and this is ridiculous. We are already fighting food prices, and it's just going to continue to keep going up, and now he's going to hit healthcare.gov the Obama. I am totally against President Trump, and even more so against these rate increases for health insurance.
Rochelle, Boone County
I got a letter in the mail about the rate increase hearing. I of course would not like my rate to go up 12.6%.
Dusti H.
I appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback to a proposed fee rate increase for Wellmark health plans.
I am self-employed and currently pay $706.52 per month for coverage for my daughter and I. Under that proposed 12% increase, that monthly total would be $791.30. That is an increase of $84.78 per month or $1,017.36 per year. 12% seems like a steep one-year increase. To be fair, and for context, I am not aware of the historical yearly rate increases for Wellmark health plans.
I am working hard to grow my newly formed small business, but along with that growth I already plan on the cost of my Wellmark plan to increase, as it is based on annual income. This double digit increase would be on top of that.
I understand that the cost of business increases over time. I would prefer that those costs be increased at a lower percentage, over a longer period of time. The "Medical Trend" factor notes that cost and use of health care services have increased. How have Wellmark's revenue and profit performed over time? I don't share that to be negative, however when the Commissioner makes a decision, I hope that how Wellmark operates and performs is reviewed as well.
On a personal note, I am 44 and have two arthritic shoulders that will likely need to be replaced. With the plan's out-of-pocket maximum being so high, I have to put off those surgeries as they are too expensive. I live with pain everyday. Even when I do save up for these procedures in the future, I will likely have to hurry my recovery/rehab to ensure that I get as much done as I can in that policy year. That isn't a positive output for me and for Wellmark, but that is what this system encourages.
For an economy that is driven by capitalism, and perhaps on the face encourages entrepreneurism, it doesn't make a lot of sense to have such a high fixed/overhead fee for basic health care insurance. It makes the barrier to entry for a small business owner higher. It encourages workers to work for an organization under a group plan (which to my knowledge and in my previous experience/career is far more affordable than the open market). I am thankful that there is an open market to choose coverage, however we have work to do to make coverage more affordable and manageable long-term. Facing a 12% one-year increase does not give me confidence that the open market is going in the right direction. If there is information that would help me understand the system and decision making, I would welcome the opportunity to learn more.
I appreciate you taking the time to consider this feedback.
Jeff L., Winterset