Privatized Medicaid is a broken three-legged stool
Iowa Senate News Release State Senator Amanda Ragan: (641) 424-0874 For Immediate Release: August 29, 2016 “Privatized Medicaid is a broken three-legged stool” Opening Comments at the August 29th...
View ArticleOn Medicaid “…Iowans should be heard first.”
Opening Comments at the August 29th Statehouse Medicaid Listening Post by Senator Amanda Ragan of Mason City, Senate Co-Chair of the Health Policy Oversight Committee “I’m glad we are holding a...
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MONDAY – Two key Medicaid meetings at Statehouse on Aug. 29
Iowa Senate News Release State Senator Amanda Ragan: (641) 424-0874 For Immediate Release: August 25, 2016 Two Key Medicaid Meetings at the Iowa Statehouse on Monday August 29th Medicaid Listening...
View ArticlePrivate Medicaid is hurting health care
Iowa Medicaid providers are struggling under the Branstad-Reynolds privatization plan, according to a recent survey. The survey was completed by more than 400 doctors, hospitals, local clinics and...
View ArticleVigilance needed with private Medicaid
Senate Democrats are listening and remain committed to addressing the difficulties private Medicaid has created for patients, health care providers and caregivers. We tried to prevent these problems...
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State mental health services more limited than ever
Governor Branstad’s closing of Mental Health Institutes is taking its toll. Iowa is worst in the nation when it comes to the state’s ability to provide inpatient mental health treatment for our...
View ArticleDocuments referenced in Iowa Senate YouTube videos
Documents referenced in Iowa Senate Youtube videos Home Link: http://bit.ly/Documents-referenced-in-Iowa-Senate-Youtube-videos Documents are in reverse chronological order. You may need to download...
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Share your experience with privatized Medicaid
Are you an Iowa Medicaid provider? We want to hear from you. SURVEY: http://tinyurl.com/HC-providers Recently, many care providers have reported that they are struggling to be paid by the...
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Schoenjahn: Gov’s latest unilateral decision is bad news for Iowa children &...
June 6, 2016 Statement by Senator Brian Schoenjahn of Arlington: Senator Brian Schoenjahn “I am surprised and disappointed by Governor Branstad’s unilateral decision to close the 15-bed Psychiatric...
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Response to Governor Branstad’s action today on Medicaid oversight
Senator Amanda Ragan of Mason City, Chair of the Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee “I’m glad Governor Branstad did not veto the Medicaid oversight compromise reached by the Iowa...
View ArticleHelp for vulnerable Iowans
The state’s Health & Human Services Budget (HF 2460) was one of the last bills to pass the Legislature this year. It included increased oversight to address Iowans’ problems with the Governor’s...
View ArticleMissed opportunities disappoint Iowans
While the 2016 session made progress on a number of fronts, there were disappointments for working families, crime victims, and sick and disabled Iowans. Some initiatives never got off the ground....
View ArticleMaintaining commitments in tight budget times
The 2016 legislative session wrapped up April 29. It was a tight budget year, but as always, we balanced the state budget responsibly. Iowa will end the fiscal year with a $75 million surplus and $700...
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2016 Session Highlights
Senate Democrats’ 2016 Session Highlight (PDF) Maintaining our commitments in tight budget times During this tight budget year, Senate Democrats fought to maintain economic security for Iowa families...
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Gronstal 2016 End of Session Remarks
April 29, 2016 by Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs When the session began, I said that our focus must be “bringing more workers and their families into Iowa’s middle class.” The...
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Remarks on the HHS Conference Report
April 29, 2016 by Senator Amanda Ragan of Mason City, Chair of the Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee This is the conference committee report on the HHS budget. The key issue before...
View ArticleShare your experience with Medicaid privatization
On April 1, Governor Branstad’s ill-conceived plan to turn over management of Iowa Medicaid to three out-of-state companies became a reality for 560,000 Iowans. If you or a loved one is on Medicaid,...
View ArticleMedicaid changes now in place
Despite our repeated efforts to stop or delay it, Governor Branstad’s ill-conceived plan to turn over management of Iowa Medicaid to three out-of-state companies became a reality for 560,000 Iowans on...
View ArticlePrivatized Medicaid needs oversight to protect Iowans
Senate Democrats are working to ensure Iowa’s health care safety net remains strong when the Branstad-Reynolds Medicaid privatization plan is rolled out April 1. We can’t let privatization hurt the...
View ArticleSenate takes steps to improve children’s mental health care
When kids face mental health problems, families, teachers, social workers and courts want to help in the best way possible. Last year, the Legislature created a Children’s Mental Health &...
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