Health care chief says feds will look into Iowa Medicaid payment

FORT DODGE — The federal government's top health care official said Thursday during a visit to Iowa that if Medicaid providers here are not being paid in a timely fashion as some claim, her department will work with the state to address the issue.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, who traveled to Iowa on Thursday as part of her three-city national tour to discuss health care policy, also expressed disappointment that Congress left for a seven-week break without agreeing on a measure to fund efforts to combat the Zika virus.

Burwell participated in a forum discussion with roughly a dozen physicians and other local health care officials at UnityPoint Health-Fort Dodge.

In a brief meeting with reporters after the event, Burwell said the federal government will work with Iowa's Health and Human Services Department to address the issue with some Medicaid providers.

On April 1, Iowa shifted management of the state's $5 billion Medicaid program to three private health care companies. Since then, some providers who provide in-home care such as housekeeping, cooking and administering medication, say they are receiving delayed payments — and sometimes no payment at all — for their services.

In a brief meeting with reporters after Thursday's event, Burwell said if those complaints are confirmed, her agency will work with Iowa's Health and Human Services Department to address the issue.

'If there are issues, we will work with the state,' Burwell said.

The federal HHS delayed the start of Iowa's Medicaid transition because it thought the state was not ready for its Jan. 1 target date.

Burwell also said she is disappointed federal lawmakers failed to agree on funding for efforts to combat the mosquito-born Zika virus that has created a health scare in Central America and is trickling into the United States.

The virus is thought to be causing birth defects in newborns, leading governments to recommend pregnant women not travel to affected regions.

There have been more than 1,300 cases of the Zika virus reported in the U.S., including 346 among pregnant women, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There have been nine diagnosed cases in Iowa, according to CDC. Burwell said the Zika virus has caused 16 cases of 'adverse outcomes' for pregnancies in U.S. citizens.

A $1.1 billion Zika bill stalled in Congress this week because of partisan politics.

'Right now, it's an emergency for the nation,' Burwell said. 'We've asked for the resources. We asked for them back in February. And we're hopeful that we're going to see those when (lawmakers) return (in September).'

Burwell said her department has found funding wherever it could, but a lack of larger funding could hamper efforts to create a vaccine for the virus.

'We're very hopeful. The science exists for this type of mosquito and this type of virus. So we're able to go into phase-one trials very soon,' Burwell said. 'But unless you can do the planning for phase two and have the money for that, we can't continue the process. So any delays in getting vaccines that would help us solve this problem are going to be very important.'

The panel discussion at UnityPoint Health-Fort Dodge centered on accountable care organizations, programs that coordinate patient care across the health care spectrum.