Des Moines, Iowa – Open enrollment for Iowans purchasing or changing their Affordable Care Act (ACA) individual health coverage for 2024 runs Monday, November 1, 2023 – Saturday, January 15, 2024. Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen says “Iowans need to be thinking about health insurance coverage for 2024 now.  Many employers are also offering choices, but for Iowans looking to purchase their own coverage through the individual market, the time to enroll is coming very soon.”

Iowans can begin previewing sample premium amounts for individual ACA-compliant health insurance plans at https://data.iowa.gov/Health-Insurance/Sample-2024-Iowa-Individual-Affordable-Care-Act-Pr/v8ct-c8un/ for each of Iowa’s seven rating areas.  These premium amounts will become official once posted to healthcare.gov during open enrollment beginning November 1, 2023. Ommen says “As the ACA’s open enrollment season begins, Iowans considering individual plans should talk with a licensed insurance agent to thoroughly research all coverage options to determine the best plan for themselves and their families.”

The sample premiums available for window-shopping are NOT a substitute for healthcare.gov, but now is the time to be thinking about the choices.  “It is important to realize that the sample premiums do not account for the premium assistance tax credits available for many households,” Ommen added.  “The sample premiums available for review are based on geographical rating areas and also may not be available in the county in which you reside, but are a way to begin to understand the offerings.”

Iowans who wish to purchase ACA-compliant coverage must complete enrollment between November 1 – December 15, 2023, for coverage to begin January 1, 2024.  For those enrolling between December 16, 2023 – January 15, 2024, coverage will begin February 1, 2024.  During open enrollment, Iowans may call 1-800-318-2596 or visit healthcare.gov for information regarding enrollment and to calculate applicable tax credits.

Local insurance agents, assisters and Iowa’s navigator are available to help Iowans review which insurance plan may best fit their needs.  Iowans can find local help by visiting https://localhelp.HealthCare.gov/.

Important information about individual coverage for 2024

Medica, Oscar, and Wellmark Health Plan of Iowa will be offering ACA-compliant individual health insurance plans to Iowans for plan year 2024.  Medica and Wellmark Health Plan of Iowa will serve Iowans in all 99 counties while Oscar will serve Iowans in 75 counties[1].
If you currently have coverage through the exchange and do not choose a plan for 2024 by the end of open enrollment, you will be re-enrolled into the same or similar plan.
If you are considering changing insurance carriers, double-check to ensure your preferred healthcare provider(s) are in-network and your prescription drugs will continue to be covered.
Changes in federal and state regulation have opened other options for Iowans to find health coverage through a health benefit plan sponsored by a non-profit agricultural organization or through short-term limited duration plans.

[1] Adair, Adams, Appanoose, Audubon, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan, Buena Vista, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Cedar, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Clarke, Clayton, Clinton, Dallas, Decatur, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Greene, Grundy, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Howard, Humboldt, Ida, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jones, Keokuk, Kossuth, Lucas, Madison, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Mills, Mitchell, Monona, Monroe, Montgomery, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Polk, Pottawattamie, Poweshiek, Ringgold, Sac, Scott, Shelby, Sioux, Tama, Union, Van Buren, Wapello, Warren, Wayne, Winnebago, Woodbury, Worth, Wright

CRESTON, Iowa – Oct. 12, 2023 – (In an update to our earlier report) As part of the Iowa Department of Transportation’s continuing efforts to improve the work zone on Interstate 80 around Jordan Creek Parkway, the DOT says it will be closing I-80 overnights between Jordan Creek Parkway and Grand Prairie Parkway.

contractors have planned two nights of overnight road closures. On the first night of work, westbound I-80 will close at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 15, and re-open by 5 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 16. On the second night, eastbound I-80 will be closed from 8 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 16 to 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 17.

The closures will allow the contractor to place asphalt on the pavement over the rumble strips. This smoother pavement will address several issues in the work zone including difficulty seeing lanes as well as making the road easier to drive on and less noisy.

While the roadway is closed for construction work you will follow a marked detour route using Jordan Creek Parkway, University Avenue, and Grand Prairie Parkway.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A Page County man was arrested late Thursday morning in Montgomery County. Red Police report 51-year-old Kelly Dean Baker, of College Springs, was arrested in the 1500 block of North Broadway in Red Oak, for Disorderly Conduct. Baker was taken into custody at around 11-a.m.,  and transported to the Montgomery County Jail where he was being held on a $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The “election lab” at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ranks Iowa in the top three states for the way elections are administered and Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says poll workers who check in voters at precincts and who count absentee ballots in the county auditor’s office are a big reason.

“They are our unsung heroes. These the the folks that are a big part of what helps us administer elections, to give you the transparency, so folks know that our elections are run on the up and up,” Pate says. “We couldn’t do it without them.” It takes over 10-thousand poll workers to run a statewide election.

“They’re coming from all walks of life,” Pate says. “You’ve got retired folks. You’ve got retired folks. You’ve got teachers and construction workers and farmers — and they’re the ones that get it done.” Poll workers are required to attend training sessions about voting rules before each election. They are paid, at a rate that’s decided on a county by county basis.

“Quite frankly, it’s a stipend, but it is some compensation,” Pate says. “They really are so key to making sure we have the integrity of our elections.” There were PRIMARY elections in six Iowa cities this week and Pate has ordered audits in random precincts — a routine check. He says county auditors are also testing voting machines this month to get ready for the city and school board elections on November 7th.

The Iowa State Patrol is releasing the name of the man who was killed in a pickup-semi crash in Franklin County on Wednesday afternoon. The accident happened at Highway 3 and Lark Avenue in Hampton shortly after 1:30. Troopers say a 2003 GMC Sierra pickup operated by 54-year-old Robert Dietz of Hampton was traveling westbound on Highway 3 when it crossed the center line striking the front trailer axle of a 2022 model Freightliner semi and trailer, driven by Andrew Stansbury of Eldora. Dietz died of his injuries in the accident.

(Radio Iowa) – State officials say nearly 19-thousand applicants have qualified for state-funded accounts to cover private school expenses. In January, Republican legislators approved Governor Reynolds’ plan to deposit state money in Education Savings Accounts that are to be used to pay tuition and other costs for students in a private K-through-12 school. Each account is to get 76-hundred dollars. but there were household income limits. The number of approved accounts is about a third more than lawmakers had expected.

A final report on how many accounts were activated will come in December after officials confirm students were enrolled in a private school. Some parents who submitted applications may not have found a spot in a private school for their child. In July, state officials indicated 60 percent of applications were from parents whose child already attended a private school. Forty percent were for kids who’d be enrolling in a private school for the first time.

Two years from now, every parent of a private school student may apply for the state stipend. State officials say nearly six-thousand of this year’s applications were denied because they did not meet household income limits or residency requirements. Sioux County had the highest number of approved applications, per capita, with 12-hundred Education Savings Accounts established for the northwest Iowa county’s students.

Nearly 32-hundred applications were approved for Polk County, the state’s largest county. There were no applications from residents of Decatur, Louisa or Ringgold Counties. If every approved account is activated, the state will be spending 144 million dollars on the program this year. House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst says that money should be going to public schools to do things like address Iowa’s teacher shortage and expand school-based mental health services for kids.

Governor Reynolds, who started lobbying legislators to pass the program three years ago, has said it will spark competition that will benefit students in public and private schools.

(Radio Iowa) – The state transportation commission has approved funding for links to several existing recreational trails, and some new ones. The D-O-T’s Scott Flagg oversees the trail program and says one project will link the Raccoon River Valley Trail to the High Trestle Trail in central Iowa.

That project is getting 675-thousand dollars. Jasper County is receiving nearly 500-thousand dollars for the Red Rock Prairie Trail.

The Fontana Park Learning and Discovery Trail project is getting 238-thousand dollars.

Phase two of the Little River Scenic Pathway is receiving 368-thousand dollars in funding.

Phase two of the Ballpark to Ballpark Shelby County Trail Phase was awarded 463-thousand dollars.

Polk County won funding for a mountain bike park. Flagg says these types of parks can bring in a lot of people.

He says the facility will offer a lot of different things for bikers.

That project is getting 400-thosuand dollars. The State Recreational Trails Program requires 25 percent of the project to be paid for by the city or county getting the funds. Flagg says they had 44 applications requesting more than 21 million dollars in this round.

State officials are predicting tax PAYMENTS to the State of Iowa will drop by a little less than one percent during the current budgeting year due to previously approved tax CUTS. Iowa Department of Management director Kraig Paulsen is the governor’s top budget advisor.

The top state income tax rate was reduced 10 months ago and there will be another reduction January 1st. Corporate income taxes have been cut, too.

Jennifer Acton of the Legislative Services Agency says global turmoil as well as Iowa drought conditions and the state’s aging workforce are concerns.

Acton and Paulsen are members of the state’s Revenue Estimating Conference, which met late this (Thurday) morning. The group predicts state tax collections in the NEXT state fiscal year will drop one-point-eight percent.

Senator Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, says the report shows state tax revenue won’t be able to keep up with the corporate tax cuts and private school spending Governor Reynolds has approved. House Democrats say Iowans are tired of endless tax cuts for corporations and the super rich.

The Republican who leads the House Appropriations Committee says lawmakers need to keep lowering the tax burden in a responsible way to help Iowans struggling with wages that aren’t keeping up with inflation.

(Radio Iowa) With rain in the forecast for the next few days for wide sections of Iowa, we should see at least a temporary end to the rash of field fires and farm equipment fires. Le Mars Fire Rescue Chief Dave Schipper says they’ve seen quite a few of both this harvest season, and the winds can spread flames across fields quickly. He says farmers can help by positioning a disc implement nearby.

Chief Schipper says even the best-kept equipment is vulnerable to fire.

Forecasters say parts of Iowa may see up to three inches of rain by the weekend.

(Radio Iowa) – A Mitchell man is dead after being trapped in a grain bin. The Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office says they received a 9-1-1 call shortly after noon on Wednesday about a grain bin entrapment near the intersection of State Highway 9 and Glass Avenue. First responders at the scene found 69-year-old Dennis Fischer trapped in the bin. Authorities say rescuers were not able to free Fischer from the bin for an extended period of time and Fischer was later pronounced dead at the scene.

The Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office is reminding producers as they continue with the harvest to be mindful of the dangers of entering a grain bin, operating equipment after long hours of work and the impatience of the motoring public on the roadways.