A bill that would allow insurers to bypass Obamacare consumer protections to sell cheaper plans passed the Iowa Senate on Wednesday and is expected to be signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds, the Des Moines Register reports.
The bill would let Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield partner with the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation to sell a new type of health coverage that supporters say would be a cheaper option for people who cannot pay a higher cost under the ACA. It also allows small businesses to join together to buy health insurance for their employees. The plans are not considered health insurance and cannot be regulated like health insurance.
The bill was approved 37-11, with votes from members of both parties, but some Democrats said the coverage was not enough — the plans do not guarantee maternity care coverage or mental health and substance abuse treatment, among other things.
"This is not insurance," said Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen, according to Iowa Public Radio. "It is a health benefit that Iowans are hoping will give them the coverage that they may need. This is not regulated by the insurance commissioner."
Iowa's insurance commissioner supported the plan.
"The plan put forth by Farm Bureau can provide relief and serve a need for Farm Bureau members being forced to deal with astonishingly high premiums," Doug Ommen's spokesman said in a statement last month. "Farm Bureau has been providing benefits of many sorts to its membership to support Iowa's agriculture industry for 100 years now, and we appreciate it working to help its members at a time when the ACA has left them without any real options to protect themselves, their families or their livelihoods."
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