Best Cheap Health Insurance in Iowa (2024)

Silver plans are a good option for most people because they give you a good amount of coverage at a moderate cost. Oscar has the cheapest overall rates for Silver plans in Iowa, but its plans aren't as well rated as Wellmark's plans.

How much does health insurance cost in Iowa?

In Iowa, the average cost of health insurance is $548 per month for a 40-year-old with a Silver plan. Your rate will change depending on how old you are, what plan tier you choose, where you live, how many people you insure, and whether you smoke or use tobacco.

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In Iowa, Gold plans are only slightly more expensive than Silver plans. Because of this, it might be worth it to compare Gold plans, even if you don't think you need that much coverage. The slightly higher cost of a Gold plan is likely offset by the plan paying for more of your medical bills.

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Cheapest health insurance in Iowa

Wellmark, which is a Blue Cross Blue Shield company, has the cheapest Bronze, Silver and Gold plans in Iowa. Its Gold Primary Care plan is actually $14 cheaper each month than its Silver Primary Care plan. For most people, comparing both Silver and Gold plans is a good way to find the best health insurance in Iowa.

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Finding your best health insurance coverage in Iowa

The best health insurance in Iowa for you depends on your monthly budget and how much medical care you need. In general, you should try to match a plan's benefits to your health care needs. If you need more complex health care or go to the doctor often, look at Silver and Gold plans. If you are young, healthy and usually don't go to the doctor, a Bronze or Catastrophic plan could be the best option.

Gold plans: Best for complex medical needs

Gold plans pay for the highest share of your medical bills, so they can be good if you need expensive treatments or take prescription medications. Gold plans often cost the most each month. But if you need frequent medical care, the high monthly cost is usually offset by how much a Gold plan pays toward your health care bills. In Iowa, Gold plans aren't much more expensive than Silver plans, and you might even find a Gold plan that costs less than a Silver plan.

Silver plans: Best for average medical needs

Silver plans are a good option for most people because they balance coverage with monthly costs. In Iowa, however, Silver plans are only slightly cheaper than Gold plans on average, and some Silver plans are more expensive than Gold plans. If you aren't sure how much coverage you need, it makes sense to compare both the Silver and Gold plan options available to you.

Bronze and Catastrophic plans: Best for few medical needs

If you are young, generally healthy and don't go to the doctor often, a Bronze or Catastrophic plan could be a good way to save money each month. But you should make sure you have savings to pay for high medical costs if you need expensive health care. Bronze and Catastrophic plans pay the lowest amount of your medical bills, so you'll pay more yourself.

Anyone can buy a Bronze plan, and they're the most popular plan tier in Iowa. To get a Catastrophic plan, you have to be under 30 or qualify for an exception. You also can't lower your monthly cost with a rate subsidy on Catastrophic plans.

Medicaid: Best if you have a low income

Medicaid provides health insurance coverage to low-income adults, children, pregnant women, seniors and people with disabilities. If you make less than about $20,000 per year as a single adult, or $41,000 per year as a family of four, you may qualify for Medicaid. Being on Medicaid can significantly reduce or eliminate your health care costs.

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Are health insurance rates going up in Iowa?

The cost of health insurance in Iowa has gone down for 2024. Bronze plans are the most popular plan tier in the state, and they cost $35 less each month for 2024 compared to 2023. Gold plans are the only tier that didn't get cheaper, but rates stayed roughly the same.

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Best cheap health insurance companies in Iowa

It has low average rates and excellent customer service. It also sells the cheapest Bronze, Silver and Gold plans in the state. Wellmark is the most popular choice for health insurance in Iowa, accounting for over 80% of the health insurance plans in the state.

Cheapest health insurance companies in Iowa

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Cheapest health insurance plan by Iowa county

The cheapest Silver plan for you in Iowa depends on where you live. That's because companies, plans and rates vary by county. Across most of Iowa, Wellmark sells the cheapest Silver plan.

The Silver Primary Care plan from Wellmark is the cheapest plan in Cedar Rapids and most of Des Moines. Although it is the cheapest Silver plan in the state, it's only available in 19 out of Iowa's 99 counties. The Wellmark Standard Silver plan is the cheapest Silver plan in most of Iowa.

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Average cost of health insurance by family size in Iowa

An average family of four pays $1,754 per month for a Silver plan in Iowa, assuming both children are under age 15. It costs a flat rate of $328 per month to add a young child to a Silver plan. But after age 15, the rate will increase with age.

Short-term health insurance in Iowa

Short-term health insurance can be a good choice if you need coverage for a small window of time, like between jobs. But these plans don't typically have the same level of coverage as plans from HealthCare.gov. You might not have coverage for common medical needs, like prescription drugs or mental health care.

In Iowa, short-term health plans can last up to a year at a time and can be continued for up to three years total. Iowa requires that plans must pay up to at least $500,000 during each plan period. There are also limits on how much a plan can require you to pay for your health care yourself. For plans longer than four months, you won't pay more than $30,000 for large medical bills. Depending on your plan, you may have a different limit, but it can't go over $30,000.

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Frequently asked questions

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Methodology

Iowa health insurance rate and plan information for 2024 is from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). ValuePenguin determined the average rates by age, plan tier, family size and region by referencing cost data from the public use files (PUFs) on the CMS website. Plans and providers for which county-level data was included in the CMS Crosswalk file were used in our analysis; those excluded from this data set may not appear. Other sources include KFF and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).