U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack told the federal government Thursday it ought to “exercise its authority” to deny or delay the shift of Iowa’s Medicaid program to managed care if it’s needed to protect beneficiaries.
Loebsack, Iowa’s lone Democrat in Congress, expressed a range of concerns about the change in a letter to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Among the concerns: That unlike other states, the change is happening too abruptly, that nearly all Medicaid recipients will be changed to the new system on Jan. 1 and the state’s children’s health insurance program, Hawk-I, is part of the move.
Gov. Terry Branstad announced the move earlier this year, and in August, the state awarded contracts Amerigroup Iowa, AmeriHealth Caritas Iowa, WellCare of Iowa and UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley.
Several questions have been raised since then. Companies that were not awarded contracts have mounted challenges to the process, including allegations of improper contact between the state and bidders. Also, several health care providers told a legislative committee this week they were worried about moving too quickly.
Statehouse Democrats also have urged a delay.
The switch must be approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS. And in the letter to its acting administrator, Andy Slavitt, Loebsack said that if Iowa or the managed care companies aren’t prepared for the change, “the agency should not approve a waiver request until it is certain that the transition will not disrupt care for medically needy Iowans.” The congressman sent a similar letter to Branstad.
A spokesman for the governor responded that his staff met with Loebsack in Washington, D.C., last month.
“Governor Branstad wants to see progress for our Medicaid patients and will work with anyone interested in improving health care outcomes rather than maintaining the status quo,” Ben Hammes, the spokesman, said in an email.
Hammes also said patients have been put first and Iowa is paying heed to the experiences of more than two dozen other states that have made the switch.
He also objected to the idea that the transition will be too abrupt. He said that existing prior authorizations will be honored for three months, that Medicaid patients can keep their doctors, hospitals and specialists, even those out of network, for six months. And, he said, long-term facilities, such as nursing homes, can be maintained for two years, including those out of network.
About 560,000 Iowans are on Medicaid, roughly one in five Iowans.
http://www.thegazette.com/subject/n...concerns-about-medicaid-managed-care-20151105
Loebsack, Iowa’s lone Democrat in Congress, expressed a range of concerns about the change in a letter to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Among the concerns: That unlike other states, the change is happening too abruptly, that nearly all Medicaid recipients will be changed to the new system on Jan. 1 and the state’s children’s health insurance program, Hawk-I, is part of the move.
Gov. Terry Branstad announced the move earlier this year, and in August, the state awarded contracts Amerigroup Iowa, AmeriHealth Caritas Iowa, WellCare of Iowa and UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley.
Several questions have been raised since then. Companies that were not awarded contracts have mounted challenges to the process, including allegations of improper contact between the state and bidders. Also, several health care providers told a legislative committee this week they were worried about moving too quickly.
Statehouse Democrats also have urged a delay.
The switch must be approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS. And in the letter to its acting administrator, Andy Slavitt, Loebsack said that if Iowa or the managed care companies aren’t prepared for the change, “the agency should not approve a waiver request until it is certain that the transition will not disrupt care for medically needy Iowans.” The congressman sent a similar letter to Branstad.
A spokesman for the governor responded that his staff met with Loebsack in Washington, D.C., last month.
“Governor Branstad wants to see progress for our Medicaid patients and will work with anyone interested in improving health care outcomes rather than maintaining the status quo,” Ben Hammes, the spokesman, said in an email.
Hammes also said patients have been put first and Iowa is paying heed to the experiences of more than two dozen other states that have made the switch.
He also objected to the idea that the transition will be too abrupt. He said that existing prior authorizations will be honored for three months, that Medicaid patients can keep their doctors, hospitals and specialists, even those out of network, for six months. And, he said, long-term facilities, such as nursing homes, can be maintained for two years, including those out of network.
About 560,000 Iowans are on Medicaid, roughly one in five Iowans.
http://www.thegazette.com/subject/n...concerns-about-medicaid-managed-care-20151105