Articles Tagged: Iowa Department of Health and Human Services

Iowa names new Medicaid director as the state adjusts to federal Medicaid work requirements, spending cuts and eligibility changes passed by state and federal lawmakers.

State officials are warning the public that they may have been exposed to measles at four locations in northwest Iowa last week.

Five weeks have passed since Iowa and Louisa County authorities took 88 children into protective custody at a faith-based substance abuse recovery camp in Columbus Junction.

An Eastern Iowa resident who tested positive for measles went to several stores, pharmacies, a day care and a golf course last week when they were contagious. Public health officials are asking the public to fill out a form if they may have been exposed.

Iowa nonprofits that provide support and services to Iowans with complex mental health challenges say they are alarmed and concerned by plans to end a state program that provides holistic care coordination for children and adults with mental health conditions, with little notice given.

Starting Tuesday, mental health and substance use disorder services are being combined into seven behavioral health districts.The transition involves moving from regional to district-based eligibility and billing processes. It aims to provide more consistent care across the state. Will it?

Two unvaccinated children and an unvaccinated adult from Johnson County were added Thursday to the list of Iowans infected by measles, bringing the total identified cases in the state to six, according to state and county health officials.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said work requirements are needed to focus Medicaid on those truly in need. A nonpartisan analysis by the state’s Legislative Services Agency projects 32,000 eligible Iowans could lose coverage under the new law.

Also in the Capitol Notebook, a new warden has been named for Iowa State Penitentiary.

A central Iowa adult is confirmed to have the first case of measles in the state since 2019, according to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.

After three years of failures, Iowa lawmakers late Wednesday reached an agreement on how to spend tens of millions of dollars that have been sitting idle in a state account, waiting to be used for the prevention and treatment of opioid addiction.

In addition to $10 million Iowa paid two siblings of a teenage girl who died of starvation in the care of her adoptive parents in 2017, the state has agreed to pay a third sibling $4.2 million after being “severely physically abused, neglected, and tortured.”

Under a proposal advanced by Iowa Senate Republicans, Iowa Medicaid would no longer cover surgical, hormonal and other procedures related to treating Iowans with gender dysphoria. Critics warn the move could endanger the health and lives of Iowans.

Seven former Independence Mental Health Institute nurses have filed claims of gross negligence against the state and Iowa Health and Human Services. Some of them have shared stories of assaults that resulted in a miscarriage, traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Partial funding of Title X family planning services has raised concerns, with an Iowa clinic receiving less than half its previous funding.