More Iowans Going To Minn. For Medical Care
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A growing number of Iowans traveling to Minnesota for medical care at the Mayo Clinic have added to the state's largest health insurer's costs and contributed to rate increases.
Laura Jackson, a vice president for Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, told the Des Moines Register that it costs twice as much for care at the Mayo Clinic than at in-state facilities that provide the same services. That's because Wellmark has more leverage to negotiate cost breaks with Iowa providers who depend on in-state customers than with Mayo, she said.
"We have great physicians who provide quality care at low cost right here in Iowa," Jackson said.
Wellmark provides coverage to about 2.1 million people in Iowa and South Dakota. The insurer said it spends more than $125 million a year for care at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for about 12,000 customers.
"In reality, it's not a lot of people going to Mayo, but it's a lot of dollars," said Michael Fay, a Wellmark vice president.
Wellmark said that's among the reasons for its higher premiums. The insurer raised rates an average of 18 percent last year and will raise them again, by an average of 8.5 percent, in April.
There is no additional premium for customers getting care at Mayo, and Wellmark said there are no plans to institute one.
Ottumwa businessman Kermit Knott, 50, goes to Mayo for treatment of a rare type of lymphoma. He said that when he made the decision to go, he didn't consider how much it would cost him in out-of-pocket expenses or Wellmark.
"It's my life," Knott said. "I want to be able to go to Mayo or Johns Hopkins or wherever I need to go."
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