Conference replay: The future of Medicaid in Iowa

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Audio: replay conversations from Iowa Ideas 2017

Nearly one in four Iowans relies on Medicaid for health care coverage, and that number is only expected to grow. Medicaid is projected to serve nearly 770,000 Iowans or 24 percent of Iowa’s population in SFY17 and over 795,000 or 25.7 percent of Iowa’s population by SFY19.

At Iowa Ideas 2017, September 20-22 in Cedar Rapids, Jerry Foxhoven, director of the Iowa Department of Human Services, and state Sen. Liz Mathis, D-Robins, sat down with The Gazette's health care reporter Chelsea Keenan for an in-depth discussion on the current state and future of Medicaid in Iowa. 

Some quick background: In April 2016, Iowa transitioned the majority of its Medicaid program from a traditional fee-for-service program to a managed-care system. The state has contracted with three private insurers to administer the program – AmeriHealth Caritas Iowa, Amerigroup Iowa and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Iowa. 

Medicaid covers low-income adults over age 65, blind, disabled, pregnant women and children. The Iowa Wellness Plan (Medicaid expansion) covers adults ages 19 to 64 with incomes at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level -- $11,880 for individuals or $16,020 for a family of two in 2016.

Full story based on this conversation: Iowa's human services director Foxhoven takes tough stand with Medicaid insurers 

More from Iowa Ideas: Hospitals work to treat complex, low-income patients through population health management 

Iowa’s Medicaid program at a glance: 

-- Total spending: $4.7 billion

-- Number of enrollees: About 630,000

Population breakdown:

-- Hawk-I (low-income children) : 44,966

-- Iowa Wellness Plan (Medicaid expansion): 143,700

-- Medicaid: 429,301

-- Percent of Medicaid enrollees in managed care: 94 percent 

-- Births financed my Medicaid in 2015: 37 percent