WEST DES MOINES – HealthPartners UnityPoint Health (HPUPH) will start offering fully-insured health insurance to businesses and organizations with fewer than 50 employees, giving more options to the small group segment of the market.

HPUPH will have 27 plan options, enabling businesses to choose plans with broad or narrow networks. Rates for these plans will be announced Oct. . Participating businesses will have access to HealthPartners’ nationally recognized customer service, health and well-being resources, and telehealth services.

“For businesses and organizations that rely on small, agile teams, health and well-being is paramount because it impacts job satisfaction, engagement, performance and the bottom line,” said Becky Woody, president of HealthPartners UnityPoint Health. “We’re aiming to help these organizations improve the health and well-being of their teams through our high value health plans.”

HPUPH is a joint venture between Minnesota-based HealthPartners and Iowa-based UnityPoint Health. The two organizations first offered coverage in 2017 and now have more than 60,000 members using commercial or Medicare products in all of Iowa’s 99 counties.

All HPUPH plans, including the new small group plans, leverage the health system’s large network of care, which spans the state of Iowa. By combining care and coverage, HPUPH can coordinate care more effectively and improve experience, outcomes and cost of care.

“Care and coverage together help us provide health care more efficiently, which helps small businesses operate more efficiently,” Woody said. “That’s the value we offer, and we look forward to building more partnerships in Iowa to affordably improve health and well-being.”