Democrats and six Republicans in the Iowa Senate have voted to establish more oversight of the three private companies that will begin managing care for Iowa Medicaid patients April 1st. The bill would create a new legislative committee that would meet quarterly to review the program, plus there would be some limits on how much the private companies can profit from the new arrangements. Senator Amanda Ragan, a Democrat from Mason City, says legislators have to be “the voice” of the 560-thousand Iowans who are currently on Medicaid.
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Senator David Johnson of Ocheyedan is urging his fellow Republicans to join the effort to establish more oversight in the both the legislative and executive branches of state government.
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The bill now goes to the Republican-led Iowa House, where its future is unclear. Republican Governor Terry Branstad says there’s no need for additional oversight. He says that’s what the private companies have been hired to do.