New Iowa health insurance option details released

Three of the state's largest companies released details on Friday about a new health insurance product.

Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Hy-Vee and UnityPoint Health announced the Blue Rewards program in June. The plan brings together Wellmark's insurance options with UnityPoint's physicians and Hy-Vee's retail services as part of the companies' coordination of customer care.

In a phone interview with The Gazette on Thursday, leaders from the three organizations said customers who purchase the plan and complete certain tasks, such as a biometric screening and an annual physical, also will be able to earn rewards. They include a Hy-Vee gift card or FitBit - a wireless activity tracker that measure steps, quality of sleep and other personal metrics.

Laura Jackson, Wellmark executive vice president for health care innovation and business development, said the product should not be confused with a narrow-network plan.

Those who purchase Blue Rewards products will have access to Wellmark's entire statewide physician and hospital network, but will have lower out-of-pocket costs when they select a UnityPoint Health-associated provider or hospital and get prescriptions filled at Hy-Vee pharmacies.

The goal of the new option is to encourage healthy behaviors by integrating Wellmark's insurance plans with UnityPoint's medical home model and Hy-Vee's retail services, including its pharmacy, wellness and dietitian services.

Brian Jones, Unity Point Health vice president of payor innovation, said the insurance option encourages customers to find a care team, which also benefits hospitals and clinics. The medical home concept is a more patient-friendly and cost-effective strategy that centers on better care coordination through a team-based approach.

Sheila Laing, senior vice president of Health and Wellness Solutions for Hy-Vee, agreed.

'We want more individuals to understand their own health - what the numbers mean, what their eating habits are - so it's easier to live a healthy lifestyle,” she said.

Blue Rewards is available to individuals and small businesses during the 2015 open enrollment period, which began Nov. 15 and lasts until Feb. 15.

Jackson said more than 200 individuals and 300 businesses and brokers have already called to request quotes on the various plans.

Des Moines-based Wellmark is the state's largest insurer, paying benefit claims to more than 2 million people in Iowa and South Dakota. UnityPoint Health, the country's 13th largest health system, operates hospitals in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin.

West Des Moines-based Hy-Vee operates 237 retail stores and recorded $8 billion in sales in 2013.