Dubuque, Iowa employer health plans: what they cost and who gets paid
Updated plan year 2024, the most recent complete year
29 employers in Dubuque, Iowa filed health plans with 100 or more participants for plan year 2024, covering 18,521 participants. They reported $5.8M in insurance premiums and $1.9M in broker commissions and fees. Against 2023, premiums were down 1.1% and broker pay rose 24.4%.
Funding: 4 fully insured · 18 self-funded · 7 mixed. 25 of 29 plans pay at least some medical claims from the employer's own assets.
Largest employer health plans in Dubuque
Dubuque employers reporting the most insurance premium across every Schedule A contract, with what they paid brokers.
| Employer | Premiums | Broker pay | Participants | Top broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubuque Internal Medicine, PC d/b/a Grand River Medical Group | $3,296,419 | $66,319 | 336 | Zach Corporation dba Group Ben |
| Honkamp Krueger & Co., P.C. | $1,737,772 | $47,239 | 384 | Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield |
| Ay McDonald Industries Inc | $562,709 | $148,675 | 1,031 | Cottingham & Butler |
| Heartland Financial USA, Inc. | $237,721 | $158,258 | 2,457 | Cottingham and Butler |
| McCoy Group Inc. | $0 | $236,403 | 3,532 | The Vogt Group Inc |
| Cottingham & Butler Insurance Service Inc. | $0 | $28,153 | 1,827 | Cottingham & Butler Insurance |
| Hirschbach Motor Lines, Inc. | $0 | $389,862 | 1,778 | Cottingham and Butler Insuranc |
| Hodge Company | $0 | $167,374 | 796 | Cottingham & Butler Ins |
| Medical Associates Clinic, PC | $0 | — | 717 | — |
| Archdiocese of Dubuque | $0 | $8,272 | 695 | True North Companies LLC |
| Dupaco Community Credit Union | $0 | $156,556 | 667 | Douglas W Hoefer |
| Flexsteel Industries, Inc. | $0 | $23,775 | 378 | Cottingham and Butler |
| Spahn & Rose Lumber Co. | $0 | $22,769 | 351 | Cottingham & Butler |
| Theisen Supply, Inc | $0 | — | 328 | — |
| Kendall Hunt Publishing Company | $0 | $20,559 | 315 | Cottingham Butler Insurance Service |
| Klauer Manufacturing Company | $0 | $41,131 | 295 | Cottingham & Butler |
| Hills and Dales Child Development Center | $0 | $17,871 | 253 | Kapparos Steve |
| Woodward Communications, Inc. | $0 | $15,895 | 242 | Hays Companies |
| Hartig Drug Company | $0 | $63,390 | 235 | Vogt Group Inc |
| Clarke University | $0 | $47,239 | 233 | AssuredPartners |
| University of Dubuque | $0 | — | 226 | — |
| Loras College | $0 | $11,345 | 222 | Mercer |
| Conlon Construction Company | $0 | $56,627 | 203 | The Vogt Group, Inc. |
| Art Pape Transfer, Inc. | $0 | $117,431 | 199 | The Vogt Group |
| Molo Petroleum, LLC | $0 | $39,668 | 193 | The Vogt Group, Inc. |
Source: DOL Form 5500 Schedule A, plan year 2024; employers are grouped by the sponsor's mailing city as filed. Self-funded employers show only stop-loss and ancillary premium.
Who gets paid
Commissions and fees reported by Dubuque employers, with the number of employer plans naming each broker.
| Broker | Commissions + fees | Plans |
|---|---|---|
| Cottingham & Butler | $1,092,349 | 15 |
| The Vogt Group, Inc. | $326,663 | 6 |
| Douglas W Hoefer | $60,166 | 1 |
| Gis Benefits Inc | $48,820 | 5 |
| Zach Corporation dba Group Ben | $45,169 | 1 |
| AssuredPartners | $36,598 | 2 |
| Beneusa LLC | $28,650 | 1 |
| John W Kessler | $25,784 | 1 |
| Truenorth Companies, L.C. | $23,945 | 1 |
| Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $22,220 | 1 |
Largest medical carriers
Medical premium written for these employers.
Dubuque against Iowa and the U.S.
Medians over the same definitions on every BenefitsLedger page: commission rate on commission-paying, fully insured medical plans; broker pay per employer that disclosed any; medical premium per covered person.
| Dubuque | Iowa | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer plans | 29 | 619 | 58,547 |
| Median commission rate | n/a | 1.6% | 3.8% |
| Middle half of rates | n/a | 1.1% – 2.4% | 2.7% – 5.0% |
| Median broker pay per employer | $40,400 | $38,968 | $72,628 |
| Medical premium per covered person | n/a | $10,958 | $7,274 |
| Plans reporting no commission | 0 | 54 | 933 |
Year over year. In plan year 2023, 30 Dubuque employers reported $5.9M in premiums and $1.6M in broker pay for 15,527 participants; in 2024 it was $5.8M and $1.9M for 18,521 participants (premiums −1.1%, broker pay +24.4%).
Source: DOL Form 5500 and Schedule A, plan years 2024 and 2023, employer health plans with 100 or more participants; built October 24, 2026. Medians need at least 10 rated plans to be shown for a city. Methodology.
How much do Dubuque employers pay health insurance brokers?
29 Dubuque employers reported $1,948,460 in broker commissions and fees on their 2024 Form 5500 filings, 26 of them disclosing at least some compensation. Too few fully insured medical plans in Dubuque reported premium to compute a stable commission rate; the Iowa median is 1.6% and the U.S. median is 3.8%. In dollars, the median Dubuque employer that disclosed broker pay reported $40,400.
Which Dubuque employers have the largest health plans?
By insurance premium reported for 2024, Dubuque Internal Medicine, PC d/b/a Grand River Medical Group ($3.3M), Honkamp Krueger & Co., P.C. ($1.7M), Ay McDonald Industries Inc ($562,709) lead. 25 Dubuque employers are listed on this page; every employer in the record has its own page.
Which brokers and carriers are paid the most in Dubuque?
By compensation reported by Dubuque employers, the largest brokers are Cottingham & Butler ($1.1M, 15 plans), The Vogt Group, Inc. ($326,663, 6 plans), Douglas W Hoefer ($60,166, 1 plans). By medical premium, the largest carriers are Wellmark Health Plan of Iowa, Gravie Administrative Services LLC, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.
Are Dubuque employer health plans self-funded or fully insured?
Of 29 Dubuque employer plans, 4 are fully insured, 18 are self-funded and 7 mix insured and self-funded coverage. Self-funded plans report only stop-loss and ancillary contracts on Schedule A, so their premium and broker pay understate total spend.
Other cities in Iowa
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