A bill has been introduced in the Iowa Senate to stop Governor Branstad’s unilateral decision to privatize Iowa’s Medicaid program.
We’re supporting this legislation—Senate Study Bill 3081—because many Iowans say the Governor’s plan tries to do too much, too fast, and it fails to protect vulnerable Iowans. There is no excuse for putting the health and wellbeing of more than 560,000 Iowans at risk.
Specifically, the legislation directs the Iowa Department of Human Services to immediately terminate contracts with three private out-of-state managed care companies.
As an alternative, the legislation calls on Iowa to continue improving patient outcomes, increasing access to care and making the existing public management of Medicaid more efficient. This common sense legislation is necessary because Iowa still isn’t ready—even after a 60-day delay—to implement a privatized Medicaid system operated by for-profit, out-of-state companies.
Since the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a delay in privatizing Iowa’s Medicaid system in mid-December, we have seen no evidence that state officials and private companies have taken the steps to ensure the health and wellbeing Iowans receiving Medicaid services.
The main concerns I’m hearing from constituents include:
- Arbitrary and unrealistic implementation timeline
- Failure to establish adequate provider networks in advance
- Disruptions of longstanding patient-provider relationships
- Diminished quality and access to health care services
- Compromised patient care
- Inadequate communication with patients and providers
You can review Senate Study Bill 3081 on the Iowa Legislature’s website at http://tinyurl.com/hsoh46l.