State to hold Medicaid public hearing in Cedar Rapids

The Iowa Department of Human Services will hold a public hearing Wednesday in Cedar Rapids to gather comments on proposed amendments to the state's plan to transition the $5 billion Medicaid program over to out-of-state, private managed-care organizations.

Wednesday's public hearing will be held 9 to 11 a.m. in the Cedar Rapids Public Library's Whipple Auditorium.

Some of the proposed amendments include:

' Clarifying that requests for prior authorization go through the managed-care organization.

' Clarifying the process for drug authorization and remove outdated language related to the process.

' Adding the managed-care organizations' role or responsibility in delivery and payment of Medicaid-covered services.

' Clarifying the process for provider notification of incident reports for members enrolled with a managed-care organization.

' Clarifying coverage under the Marketplace Choice Plan, as this coverage will be absorbed under the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan and will be referred to as 'Wellness Plan” moving forward.

' Removing references to accountable care organizations.