Iowa Insurance Division Press Release October 15, 2026
The Medicare Open Enrollment Period (OEP) for 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Prescription Plans opened October 15, 2026, and runs through December 7, 2026. Ahead of this year’s enrollment window, more than 87,000 Iowa Medicare beneficiaries received notice that their current Medicare plan is being canceled or discontinued in their county. To view the complete Press Release, click here.
Exciting changes for Iowa Compass! The Iowa Compass Resource Database got a much-needed refresh and a brand new look. Iowa Compass made the transition to a new database software provider to create a more user-friendly experience for online searches and make it easier to find aging and disability information and resources.
Need help finding resources during this transition? As always, the Iowa Compass team will be ready to help:
The Iowa Compass resource database successfully transitioned to our new software platform on July 13! Thank you for your patience and support throughout this process. We’ll continue making minor refinements over the coming weeks to further improve the platform.
On Wednesday, September 23, 2026, Iowa HHS posted a Public Notice regarding the 1915 (c) Home and Community Based Services AIDS/HIV, Brain Injury (BI), Children’s Mental Health (CMH), Elderly, Health and Disability (HD), Intellectual Disabilities (ID), and Physical Disability (PD) Waivers. Please see the HHS website for more information.
This information was taken from the HOME Project Newsletter. To sign up for the newsletter, visit Iowa HHS Home Project.
The Waiver Priority Needs Assessment, or WPNA, is an optional way for people on a waitlist to tell Iowa HHS about urgent needs or changes to their needs. To learn more, please visit Iowa HHS WPNA
Several code changes took place on January 1, 2026 related to HCBS Waiver. Please see the Desk Resource HCBS Waiver Service code updates for more information.
| LivingWorks Start – Enroll Today for Free Begin the Conversation On behalf of Iowa’s Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health, we are pleased to offer enrollment to LivingWorks Start at no cost to you. LivingWorks Start is a 90-minute online training that helps learners develop foundational skills to recognize when someone may be thinking of suicide and connect them to further help. Once you enroll, you have 60 days to complete, so we encourage you to get started with your learning as soon as you can! Steps to Enroll: 1. Click “Enroll Now” below to begin 2. Create LivingWorks Learn account 3. Proceed to the learning catalog via “Our Training” 4. Launce the course by clicking “LivingWorks Start” 5. Complete the course within 60 days Enroll Now |
| Please contact iowa-cebh@uiowa.edu with any questions. To learn more about LivingWorks, Visit Living Works If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat online at 988lifeline.org. |