Kim Reynolds keeps giving away the store to for-profit Medicaid managers

Governor Terry Branstad and then Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds promised endlessly that privatizing Medicaid would make the system more “sustainable.” The talking point became a crutch for Governor Reynolds whenever she faced questions about problems privatization has created for patients, caregivers, and health care providers.

The old state-run Medicaid system wasn’t sustainable, Reynolds told reporters again and again. The new system was becoming more sustainable, she claimed during all three debates against her 2018 opponent Fred Hubbell.

The latest reality check arrived on July 10. For the second year in a row, for-profit companies that manage care for hundreds of thousands of Iowans on Medicaid will receive more than an 8 percent increase in government payments.

The Iowa Department of Human Services posted language from the new contracts with Amerigroup Iowa and Iowa Total Care, covering the fiscal year that began on July 1. In a news release, DHS tried to lowball the numbers: “Under the new contracts, Iowa will be increasing Medicaid funding by 6.5%.”

Read more: https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2019/07/11/kim-reynolds-keeps-giving-away-the-store-to-for-profit-medicaid-managers/