Three companies on Thursday asked a judge to suspend or terminate Iowa’s plan to privatize Medicaid management, one saying Gov. Terry Branstad’s plan is so ill-conceived it should be treated like a "cancer."
The comments came in response to revelations that WellCare, one of three companies selected to manage Iowa's $4.2 billion Medicaid program, hired former House Speaker Christopher Rants and former Rep. Renee Schulte to help them win the contract.
Previous court records and testimony show that Rants and Schulte were part of several efforts to contact the governor’s office and to learn confidential information about the identities of members of the selection committee during a “blackout” period when such communication was prohibited.
The state has since terminated WellCare’s contract at the recommendation of an administrative law judge.
But two companies, Aetna and Meridian, argue that Iowa should now throw out the entire process and start over. WellCare, meanwhile, is asking that it be allowed to continue doing business in Iowa until a judge can rule whether its contract was legally terminated.
“The state is going to take the position that this is sort of like a tumor and by taking WellCare out of the mix we have removed the problem,” said Mark Weinhardt, an attorney for Aetna. “Well, you wouldn’t rely on surgery alone to take care of a real tumor. You would also do radiation and chemotherapy and make sure that you have prevented the spread throughout the body.”
Federal officials in December said Iowa was not prepared to launch the privatized system on Jan. 1. The earliest the plan can now launch is March 1, which again depends upon a federal review.
The state argued Thursday that further delays would harm the public and create financial havoc, since the state budget included a projected $51 million in savings for the first six months of the program. However, costs have increased in some states that have privatized Medicaid management and Iowa has yet to identify how it came up with its savings estimate.
“It’s not a faucet that can be turned on and off,” Diane Stahle, a state attorney, said in defending Iowa’s argument that privatized Medicaid should proceed.
Under Iowa’s contracts, the companies running Medicaid will be paid as much as $540 million a year. The Branstad administration contends the plan will save money and improve health by improving preventative care and eliminating medical redundancies. Critics contend the for-profit managers will limit care and deny payment to Iowa’s most vulnerable populations.
MORE: Follow Iowa's Medicaid stories
Less than 20 percent of Iowa’s current Medicaid providers have signed contracts with all three remaining companies hired to manage the program, according to testimony Thursday by Mikki Stier, the state’s Medicaid director.
Doctors who are not contracted with the three remaining companies — UnitedHealthcare, Amerigroup and AmeriHealth — could decline to care for Medicaid patients who are not part of the plans accepted by their medical practices.
WellCare attorneys on Thursday argued that the company should be allowed to continue in the program until its appeals against the state for terminating its contract are resolved. Hearings on that matter are slated to begin Feb. 1 in Polk County District Court.
Failure to allow the company to proceed before the appeals are concluded would cause it irreparable harm, WellCare attorneys argued.
The state is currently instructing the 560,000 poor and disabled recipients of the program to choose the remaining three companies with an initial selection deadline of Feb. 17.
"WellCare, under procurement law, has a right to continue in that contract," said WellCare attorney Robert Highsmith Jr.
Polk County District Court Judge Robert Blink did not indicate when he would rule the requests. Blink has previously indicated a desire to rule quickly, probably before the Feb. 1 court date.
http://www.press-citizen.com/story/...rguments-iowas-medicaid-plan-cancer/78797936/
The comments came in response to revelations that WellCare, one of three companies selected to manage Iowa's $4.2 billion Medicaid program, hired former House Speaker Christopher Rants and former Rep. Renee Schulte to help them win the contract.
Previous court records and testimony show that Rants and Schulte were part of several efforts to contact the governor’s office and to learn confidential information about the identities of members of the selection committee during a “blackout” period when such communication was prohibited.
The state has since terminated WellCare’s contract at the recommendation of an administrative law judge.
But two companies, Aetna and Meridian, argue that Iowa should now throw out the entire process and start over. WellCare, meanwhile, is asking that it be allowed to continue doing business in Iowa until a judge can rule whether its contract was legally terminated.
“The state is going to take the position that this is sort of like a tumor and by taking WellCare out of the mix we have removed the problem,” said Mark Weinhardt, an attorney for Aetna. “Well, you wouldn’t rely on surgery alone to take care of a real tumor. You would also do radiation and chemotherapy and make sure that you have prevented the spread throughout the body.”
Federal officials in December said Iowa was not prepared to launch the privatized system on Jan. 1. The earliest the plan can now launch is March 1, which again depends upon a federal review.
The state argued Thursday that further delays would harm the public and create financial havoc, since the state budget included a projected $51 million in savings for the first six months of the program. However, costs have increased in some states that have privatized Medicaid management and Iowa has yet to identify how it came up with its savings estimate.
“It’s not a faucet that can be turned on and off,” Diane Stahle, a state attorney, said in defending Iowa’s argument that privatized Medicaid should proceed.
Under Iowa’s contracts, the companies running Medicaid will be paid as much as $540 million a year. The Branstad administration contends the plan will save money and improve health by improving preventative care and eliminating medical redundancies. Critics contend the for-profit managers will limit care and deny payment to Iowa’s most vulnerable populations.
MORE: Follow Iowa's Medicaid stories
Less than 20 percent of Iowa’s current Medicaid providers have signed contracts with all three remaining companies hired to manage the program, according to testimony Thursday by Mikki Stier, the state’s Medicaid director.
Doctors who are not contracted with the three remaining companies — UnitedHealthcare, Amerigroup and AmeriHealth — could decline to care for Medicaid patients who are not part of the plans accepted by their medical practices.
WellCare attorneys on Thursday argued that the company should be allowed to continue in the program until its appeals against the state for terminating its contract are resolved. Hearings on that matter are slated to begin Feb. 1 in Polk County District Court.
Failure to allow the company to proceed before the appeals are concluded would cause it irreparable harm, WellCare attorneys argued.
The state is currently instructing the 560,000 poor and disabled recipients of the program to choose the remaining three companies with an initial selection deadline of Feb. 17.
"WellCare, under procurement law, has a right to continue in that contract," said WellCare attorney Robert Highsmith Jr.
Polk County District Court Judge Robert Blink did not indicate when he would rule the requests. Blink has previously indicated a desire to rule quickly, probably before the Feb. 1 court date.
http://www.press-citizen.com/story/...rguments-iowas-medicaid-plan-cancer/78797936/
