Des Moines, Iowa (RI) — Two key Democrats in the Iowa Senate are proposing adjustments to how private companies manage Iowa’s Medicaid program. Senator Amanda Ragan of Mason City says firing the private companies is not an option since Republicans remain in control of the legislature and the governor’s office.
But she says they still believe there are fundamentally different things that can be done to make the system better. Democrats in the legislature and the Democratic candidate for governor campaigned last year on returning Medicaid to direct state oversight. Ragan, who manages a soup kitchen in Mason City, is co-sponsoring a bill calling for an independent third-party to handle appeals when the private companies deny care or services to Medicaid patients.
In addition to changes in how Medicaid is delivered through private companies, it calls on the firms to find ways to expand the number of health care workers in Iowa.
Senator Liz Mathis of Hiawatha is co-sponsoring the bill.
