Iowa state officials are waiting on a federal waiver to go forward with Governor Terry Branstad’s plan to privatize Medicaid. The proposed program would switch 560,000 Medicaid patients in Iowa over to private managed care plans.
From RadioIowa:
Federal officials ordered Branstad to hold off for 60 days, but that delay period is set to run out March 1. State Representative Dave Heaton, a Republican from Mount Pleasant, chairs a legislative panel that drafts the state Medicaid budget. He’s hoping word about a federal waiver comes this week.
“So that people can get used to and in condition to be ready to begin,” Heaton says.
Senate President Pam Jochum, a Democrat from Dubuque, says she spoke with federal decision makers two weeks ago and they were concerned not enough doctors, clinics and other health care providers had signed contracts with the three companies hired to run the program.
“They want to make sure that we have enough providers throughout the entire state to be able to meet the health needs of some of Iowa’s most vulnerable people,” Jochum says.
Branstad has claimed that the plan could save $51 million in the first six months.
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