Bring back legislative oversight

The state of Iowa made a mistake in calculating eligibility for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, cutting thousands of Iowans from coverage even though they remained eligible.

The U.S. Centers for Medicaid and Medicaid Services found that eligible enrollees were disenrolled even though the state had information showing they’re eligible. Most of the eligible recipients removed from the programs are children. Family data used by the state may have left out eligible children. The state was trying to pare back Medicaid numbers to pre-pandemic levels.

Between 10,000 and 49,000 eligible Iowans were affected by the mistake. The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services has promised to change its automatic renewal process to avoid making the same mistake again in the future.

That’s good news. But this problem seems to be the sort of thing the House and Senate Government Oversight Committees would want to investigate. As of 2021, Iowa’s Medicaid Program cost $6.2 billion, including $1.8 billion in state funds.

Any problems with a program of that size should prompt some questions from lawmakers to make sure the it’s now on the right track.

Trouble is, the Government Oversight Committees do very little to provide oversight, especially if it involves second-guessing Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ administration.

According to the Legislature’s website, the House Oversight Committee met just once during the 2023 legislative session, and that was a routine meeting to adopt committee rules.

Beyond setting rules, the Senate Government Oversight Committee met three times. On its agenda were parents who want to make it easier to remove books from school, public school officials questioned about book banning and testimony regarding gender-affirming care.

So in this Legislature, oversight means looking for ways to discriminate against LGBTQ Iowans.

That’s unfortunate. Because legislative oversight over executive branch actions is key to our system of checks and balances.

Oversight committees provide an important voice for the users of the system and should strive to make sure the system is working to its greatest potential. This doesn't need to be a divisive or partisan issue. Every area of government - regardless of which party is running it -- can always improve. Oversight committees are important checks and balances and should be places where bipartisanship is preserved.

With recommendations put forward just this week to eliminate or restructure many boards and commissions across the state, Iowans will likely see their ability to participate in their government reduced even further. That makes the need and role of oversight committees even more important. Lawmakers must take this responsibility seriously.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com