Branstad’s reckless Medicaid scheme amounts to gubernatorial malpractice

Governor Branstad’s enormous Medicaid privatization is quickly turning into a colossal train wreck for Iowa’s most vulnerable population. That was obvious on Tuesday as the Legislature’s Health Policy Oversight Committee heard testimony from more than 20 health care groups and providers calling for a delay of the Branstad regime’s privatization decree. Many of these health care experts who are responsible for implementing and delivering these critical services described Branstad’s half-baked plan as mass chaos.

There was nearly universal criticism of upending Iowa’s well-established and efficient Medicaid program and degrading it with an unplanned and reckless privatization scheme. There was general agreement that there is near total confusion among the 500,000 elderly and poor Iowans about their choice of plans, choice or loss of doctors, cost and availability of services.

...Here’s a sample of some of the testimony:

The Iowa Hospital Association (IHA)

“the timeline for implementation is too aggressive, unrealistic, and increases the potential for unintended consequences. Rushing the process will result in unnecessary patient and provider confusion, claims denials, restricted access to care, and potential litigation. The state should slow down, phase-in implementation, and provide answers to critical questions before moving forward with implementation. The IHA opposes the state’s initiative to implement managed care.”

AARP Iowa

“We are concerned that an overly-ambitious effort to achieve savings in the short term could have adverse consequences for beneficiaries’ access to needed care. AARP believes the initiative has an overly aggressive time frame for transition and implementation.”