UnityPoint to partner with Minnesota company to sell insurance

Iowa's largest health system is branching outside hospitals and clinics, announcing Tuesday that it soon will sell insurance.

Des Moines-based UnityPoint Health — with more than 280 clinics and 17 hospitals, including St. Luke's in Cedar Rapids — and Minneapolis-based HealthPartners — which provides care and health coverage — jointly will launch a new insurance company at the start of the new year.

The new company, HealthPartners UnityPoint Health, will sell Medicare Advantage plans — a Medicare health plan sold by a private company — in Iowa and Illinois.

Troy Caraway, UnityPoint Health senior vice president, said selling insurance plans fits with the company's central strategy to provide more meaningful value to patients.

The health system has made the national Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Triple Aim a major focus, which deals with improving the patient experience, improving the overall population's health and reducing the costs of care. Caraway said bringing the insurer and health care provider together provides a greater opportunity to coordinate care more efficiently.

UnityPoint is not the first health system to dive into the insurance world, he added, noting that the trend is picking up across the country.

Andrea Walsh, HealthPartners executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said the new company is working to obtain necessary health insurance licenses in Iowa and Illinois and plans to submit an application with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in February.

'Our goal is to have our products ready to sell on Jan. 1, 2017,' she said. 'The CMS application takes a bit of time.'

Walsh did not have any projections to share regarding what impact the company might have in the market, explaining it still is working to finalize its plans portfolio.

The plans will include UnityPoint Health's network of providers and HealthPartners' scale, the organizations said. The parties will equally own and govern the insurance entity.

'Medicare Advantage is one of the fastest-growing products, especially given the baby boomers,' Caraway said. 'We saw an opportunity to leverage our network in a more meaningful way.'

According to the Iowa Insurance Division, 28 Medicare Advantage plans from eight insurers are being sold in the state. Senior Health Insurance Information Program, or SHIIP, figures from 2013 — the most recent available — show Medicare Advantage plan enrollment at 74,520.

SHIIP staff and volunteers are available to offer free, confidential service to Iowans looking for help to make better- informed decisions about their Medicare. They can be reached by phone at (800) 351-4664 or online at therightcalliowa.gov.

'I think this shows the market for Medicare Advantage plans is strong,' said Iowa Insurance Division Commissioner Nick Gerhart in an email. 'This will provide another option for Iowans when they launch their insurance products.'