Medicaid plans › Iowa
Iowa Medicaid Managed-Care Plans for Providers
Enrollments are billed 50% at the start and 50% at submission; everything else 100% at the start.
Iowa Medicaid is run by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. 603,975 people were enrolled in its 3 managed-care plans in 2024. To see their patients, a provider enrolls with Iowa Medicaid through the Iowa Medicaid Portal Access (IMPA) system, then applies to each plan separately.
| Plan | Members (2024) | Share | Parent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellpoint Iowa | 222,782 | 36.9% | Elevance Health |
| Iowa Total Care | 203,393 | 33.7% | Centene |
| Molina Healthcare | 177,800 | 29.4% | Molina Healthcare |
How Joining Works in Iowa
First the state: Iowa Medicaid enrollment through the Iowa Medicaid Portal Access (IMPA) system, which gives you the Medicaid ID every plan asks for. Then the plans: each takes its own participation request and credentials you from your CAQH ProView (DataSpring) profile. 3 parent companies run plans here, and plans owned by the same company still contract state by state.
How to Join Each Iowa Plan
Wellpoint Iowa (Elevance Health): Elevance Health plans take participation requests through the plan's provider site for that state, most of them now inside Availity Essentials, and credential from your CAQH ProView (DataSpring) profile. Each state is its own contract.
Iowa Total Care (Centene): Centene runs this plan alongside its Ambetter and Wellcare products. Each Centene plan takes its own contract request on the plan's provider website, credentials from your CAQH ProView (DataSpring) profile, and will not load a provider without the state Medicaid ID.
Molina Healthcare (Molina Healthcare): Molina credentials each state separately. The contract request goes through the state's Molina provider site and requires an active state Medicaid enrollment; credentialing uses your CAQH ProView (DataSpring) profile.
Also in Iowa: Medicare, Iowa Medicaid and commercial credentialing.
Questions
Which Iowa Medicaid plan is the largest?
Wellpoint Iowa, with 222,782 members in 2024, 36.9% of the 603,975 people enrolled in Iowa's Medicaid managed-care plans.
Do I have to join every Iowa Medicaid plan?
No. Each plan is a separate contract. Practices usually start with the two or three largest plans in their county, then add others as patients ask for them. All of them require Iowa Medicaid enrollment first.
Membership from KFF, Medicaid MCO Enrollment by Plan and Parent Firm, 2024. Plans change when the state rebids its contracts; we confirm the current list on every file.