Iowa Democrats’ call to delay Medicaid transition denied

DES MOINES - Legislative Democrats on a state health care policy panel asked the committee Tuesday to implore Gov. Terry Branstad to delay by a half-year a transition from state-run to private management of the state's Medicaid program.

The suggestion was rebuffed by Republicans.

Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, made the motion at the Iowa Capitol during a committee meeting that featured public testimony of multiple stakeholders expressing concerns with the pace of the transition.

'Essentially give us an extra six months to sort out what obviously needs to be sorted out for the well-being of those 600,000 Iowans (on Medicaid) and for this gradual net of (health care) providers across our state who right now we are asking to extraordinary things,” Bolkcom said.

The Health Care Policy Oversight Committee met Tuesday at the Capitol to hear about the Medicaid management transition plan from the state Department of Human Services, the four managed care organizations that earned state contracts to administer the Medicaid program starting Jan. 1, and from the public.

After multiple stakeholders said they believe the state is moving too quickly - Branstad announced the plan in February, and the companies that will administer the program were chosen in August - Bolkcom made the motion to delay the start date from Jan. 1 to July 1.

'There's a lot of questions unanswered,” Bolkcom said. 'I've been to five or six different (public) listening posts, and the providers are not ready to move forward.”

Republicans pushed back at the motion, suggesting it is outside the committee's jurisdiction - a charge disputed by Democrats - and defending the transition timeline.

A committee vote fell on party lines, with Democrats supporting and Republicans opposing, which killed the motion.

'We're going to have to have some faith in what's being proposed here. We are,” said Rep. David Heaton, R-Mount Pleasant, a committee co-chair. 'I hear your apprehensions, but at the same time I also understand that, I think, we need to move forward. And I think that services in the end are going to get better.”

Amy McCoy, a spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services, said the state's transition timeline is 'aggressive,” but said the department is 'confident” the program will be ready by Jan. 1.

McCoy noted the state has operated other health care programs, like behavioral health, under managed care, and that the transition will be phased in for some segments of the Medicaid population.