Health insurance in Polk County, Iowa
4 insurers sell 58 marketplace plans here, and 7.0% of under-65 residents have no coverage at all.
Source: CMS Marketplace Open Enrollment Public Use Files and US Census Small Area Health Insurance Estimates, 2026 release.
Who sells here, and how much choice that gives
4 insurers sell marketplace plans in Polk County, offering 58 plans between them, roughly 14 each. The number has not changed since the previous plan year.
How many people here have no coverage
7.0% of Polk County's 436,678 under-65 residents have no health coverage — 30,732 people. That is close to the Iowa rate of 6.4%, and puts Polk County in the bottom quarter of the 1,817 counties on this site (1549th).
How much the marketplace is used
20,196 Polk County residents selected a marketplace plan for 2026: 46 per thousand under-65 residents, 1661st of 1,817. That is under the 78 per thousand typical of published counties. 3,434 of them — 17% — were new rather than renewing.
Polk County against Iowa
Polk County is the largest of the 7 Iowa counties we publish, by under-65 population. Its uninsured rate tracks the state almost exactly and its 4 insurers sit between the state's 2 and 5. Marketplace use is close to the Iowa rate.
| Polk County | Iowa | Published median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uninsured, under 65 | 7.0% | 6.4% | 9.9% |
| Insurers selling | 4 | 2–5 | 4 |
| Plans offered | 58 | — | 57 |
| Selections per 1,000 | 46 | 48 | 78 |
| New rather than renewing | 17% | 14% | 15% |
Counties of a similar size nearby
| County | Under 65 | Uninsured | Insurers | Plans |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linn County | 187,348 | 5.3% | 3 | 38 |
| Scott County | 141,985 | 5.2% | 4 | 58 |
| Johnson County | 129,488 | 6.0% | 2 | 16 |
| Black Hawk County | 104,711 | 6.6% | 3 | 42 |
All of them have fewer insurers than this county's 4, which makes it the stronger market locally.