Iowa Health Insurance Marketplace Grants Awards List

Iowa has received multiple grant awards to build its Health Insurance Marketplace - Opens in a new window. This includes a Planning Grant and Level One Establishment Grants.

Summaries of Iowa’s applications for each grant are provided below:

Establishment Grant Level One Application Summary

Administrator: Department of Public Health
Award Amount: $7,753,662; $26,623,003; $6,844,913; $17,462,311
Award Date: November 29, 2011; August 23, 2011; January 17, 2013; October 23, 2013
Application Due Date: September 30, 2011; June 29, 2012; November 15, 2012; August 15, 2013
Level of Funding: Level One

Summary: The Iowa Department of Public Health will use Level One funding to conduct insurance market research and analysis to inform policy decisions on the design of its Affordable Insurance Exchange. The Department will conduct a financial assessment and budget analysis to determine the financial resources required to provide assistance to individuals and small businesses, coverage appeals, and complaints. The State will also develop a detailed Exchange business process, and associated business requirements for the Affordable Insurance Exchange IT system. Additionally, they will conduct focus groups and stakeholder outreach regarding user interface design and program development. Iowa intends to continue to plan and develop an integrated, automated eligibility system that meets the requirements of all programs, and plan for workforce training to reflect operations upon Exchange implementation.

Iowa will use its second Level One Establishment Grant to further develop and enhance the eligibility system initiated with their first Level One Establish Grant. This will include: (1) a redesign of the current database and web application to change the system from an application (household) centered architecture to a person centered architecture; implementation of an Enterprise Service Bus, a software model used for interacting between software applications; (2) integration of the eligibility solution into the State’s system for Medicaid and CHIP eligibility; (3) integration of the eligibility solution into the State’s HBE for the determinations of Medicaid and CHIP eligibility, as well as tax credit subsidies or other eligibility for Qualified Health Plan participation; and (4) further automation of eligibility business processes and incorporation of expanding populations into online enrollment.

Iowa’s third Level One Establishment Grant award will be used to develop an In-Person Assister Program that will provide services to educate consumers about their health care coverage options, help consumers file applications to receive eligibility determinations for insurance affordability programs, and provide guidance on comparing and selecting coverage options to enroll in Qualified Health Plans. This funding will move Iowa to the next level of implementation for an Iowa Health Benefit Exchange.

Iowa’s fourth Level One Cooperative Agreement will support the state planning for transition to a State-based Marketplace in 2016.

The Iowa Department of Human Services is the lead applicant for this grant and is collaborating closely with the Iowa Insurance Division and the Iowa Department of Public Health as part of an Interagency Planning Workgroup.

State Planning Grant

Awarded September 30, 2010

Administrator: Iowa Department of Health

Amount Awarded: $1,000,000

• Establish an Interagency Planning Workgroup to ensure collaboration between the Iowa Department of Public Health, Iowa Department of Human Services (State Medicaid Agency), Iowa Insurance Division and the Iowa Department of Revenue
• Create final recommendations, to include:
• Organizational structure for an insurance Exchange
• Shared vision
• Implementation plan that will include policy recommendations and core capabilities
• Blueprint for outreach efforts
• Sustainability plan that will address critical risk factors that will need to be managed.
• Develop a comprehensive plan for implementation of an insurance Exchange in Iowa.
• Further develop the planning process and expand stakeholder input.
• Assess insurance Exchange options.
• Coordinate planning efforts with existing State and federal programs to ensure integration with an insurance Exchange.
• Assess the capacity and infrastructure required for implementation of an insurance Exchange in Iowa.
• Determine administrative resource needs for implementation of an insurance Exchange.
• Assess infrastructure and regulatory needs.
• Identify transition steps for implementation and sustainability based on recommendation of insurance Exchange structure.
  

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