Sheldon, Iowa — Changes are on the way for Iowa Medicaid recipients. As of April 1st, the program will transition from a completely government-run program to a more privatized program utilizing managed care organizations or “MCO’s.”
Not only does Medicaid serve children of low-income families, it also serves low-income adults.
We asked CEO Barry Whitsell of Village Northwest Unlimited in Sheldon how the switch will affect them and their residents. Whitsell says the majority of their residents are Medicaid recipients. But, says Whitsell, he doesn’t expect much to change from their point of view.
On the other hand, Whitsell says he thinks he can see the hand writing on the wall when it comes to the future of Medicaid run by MCO’s.
He says less money is going to mean a reduction in available services at all types of medical facilities.
The federal approval of the managed care plan for Iowa Medicaid was announced earlier this week, and will go into affect on April 1st. The implementation date had originally been January first, but this is the second time that it has been pushed back — first to March first, and now April first.
