Wellmark to pull out of Iowa Obamacare exchange

Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield announced that it would not be participating in Obamacare’s Iowa exchange next year, citing $90 million in losses during the last three years.

The company said in a statement that its customers had endured “double-digit premium increases” and noted that 21,400 Iowans would be affected. Wellmark Chairman and CEO John Forsyth also hinted that the uncertainty over how former President Barack Obama’s healthcare law would be affected in coming months had contributed to the company’s decision.