Privatized, for-profit Medicaid continues to cause chaos and uncertainty for Iowa families, health care providers and taxpayers.
On Friday, we learned that UnitedHealthcare is leaving Iowa’s managed care program. UnitedHealthcare currently is the MCO for over 70 percent of Iowans on Medicaid. That means 425,000 Iowans will again have their health care disrupted, as they are forced to switch insurance companies. This could put our most vulnerable in life or death situations.
Governor Reynolds says that United HealthCare is unwilling to be held accountable for the quality of its services. United Healthcare claims they’re leaving due “to underfunding and the inability to create a path forward with sustainable funding.”
Iowans are not interested in a “he said, she said” between MCOs and the Governor. The bottom line is that “three years into our costly Medicaid privatization experiment, Iowa’s dominant managed-care organization (MCO) still can’t handle normal business practices like paying health care providers on time.”
This is just the latest in a series of problems that have plagued privatized Medicaid since its inception three years ago. Democrats have offered ideas for meaningful improvements—but time and again, they fall on deaf ears.
Elected officials should listen to Iowans who depend on Medicaid, and to health care providers, family care givers and tax payers. Together, Iowans can fix our broken health care system. We can turn this problem into a success that will make our state healthier, stronger and a more attractive place to live.
If you agree, please sign our petition and join Democratic lawmakers in calling on Statehouse Republicans to fix Iowa’s failed Medicaid privatization experiment. Go to iowansforqualitymedicaid.com to sign the petition—and share it with others who share our concerns!