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Governor-elect Rob Sand took questions from the media on Monday, in his first press conference following a landmark election last week.
Medicare Advantage members in Maine, Iowa, Oklahoma and Texas whose plans end on Dec. 31 can move to Original Medicare and buy a Medigap supplement without being turned down over their health. Insurance regulators in the first three states and a health plan in Texas have each told members about the right, and Maine’s window […] The post Medicare Advantage members whose plans end Dec. 31 in Maine, Iowa, Oklahoma and Texas can buy Medigap without being turned down, and Maine’s window runs to March 31 appeared first on The Money Overview .
Iowa Gov.-elect Rob Sand says he'll begin the process of ending Iowa's decade-old Medicaid privatization system on his first day in office, but the transition won't happen overnight. Why it matters: The end of privatized Medicaid would be one of the most dramatic changes to Iowa's health care systems in 10 years, but Sand has criticized the program, saying it prioritizes profits over patients. Driving the news: Sand shared his early priorities with reporters during his first press conference as governor-elect in the Capitol rotunda Monday. "This is not a thing that we can do overnight. But my intention is that that process begins on day one," Sand said. Catch up quick: Former Republican Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad transferred management of Iowa's Medicaid program from the state to private insurance companies in 2016, arguing the move would improve care and save taxpayers money. The program launched April 1, 2016, transferring coverage for around 94% of Medicaid members to three privately managed care organizations. A 2021 report from Sand's state auditor's office found an 891% increase in administrative law judges overturning denials of Medicaid services after privatization. The other side: State officials disputed the findings, saying changes to the appeals process
DES MOINES — Changes to social services, including Medicaid and food and nutrition programs like SNAP, have Iowans who rely on those services on edge. In some cases, several programs work together to help parents provide for their families. Sara Shiltz, a convenience store assistant manager and a mother...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids has been ranked Iowa’s top hospital for the third consecutive year in Newsweek and Statista’s 2027 list of America’s Best-in-State Hospitals. St. Luke’s has appeared on the list every year since the rankings began...
More than 87,000 Iowa Medicare beneficiaries received notice that their current plan is being canceled or discontinued in their county for 2027, the Iowa Insurance Division said Oct. 15. The notices cover Medicare Advantage, Cost and Part D drug plans. Regulators say people who lose a plan and choose new coverage by Dec. 31 avoid […]
Iowa is receiving another $216 million through a federal rural health program that Iowa’s congressional delegation has credited with helping Sioux Center Health expand prenatal care. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced the second-year award Monday, November 9th. It is nearly $7 million more than Iowa’s first-year...
OSKALOOSA — Mahaska Health team members Caleb Robinson, RN, and Audrianna Wilke, BSN, RN, Director of Inpatient Services, were recognized at the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) Annual Meeting in Des Moines in October at the Community Choice Convention Center. The IHA Hospital Hero Award recognizes hospital employees who go...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is maintaining its decision to exclude several Iowa river and stream segments from the state’s impaired waterways list, despite concerns over elevated nitrate levels. The decision involves portions of the Cedar, Des Moines, Iowa and South Skunk rivers. These waterways have been the...
MercyOne Air Med will celebrate the 40th anniversary of service to its patients across Iowa on Nov. 10 at 1 p.m., with events in Des Moines, Clinton and Mason City. The public is invited to join the festivities, tour the helicopters and meet the people behind the life-saving care that has been MercyOne Air Med’s hallmark for the last 40 years.
The Environmental Protection Agency has removed several rivers and streams from the Iowa Natural Resources Department's list of impaired waterways , despite being contaminated with dangerous levels of nitrates. An environmental coalition sued the EPA over the move but the agency has doubled down on its decision. Citing high nitrate levels caused largely by farm runoff, the advocacy group Food and Water Watch and the Iowa Environmental Council took the EPA to court over its failure to protect segments of the Cedar, Des Moines, Iowa and South Skunk rivers, meaning they will not be prioritized for developing cleanup plans. Dani Replogle, staff attorney for Food and Water Watch, said the EPA offered a weak rationale for keeping these rivers off the list. "For example, by saying that we only have 362 days of data, and if we had 365 – a full year's worth of data – then maybe the percentage of exceedance days would be under the limit," Replogle pointed out. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources sends nitrate level information to the EPA, which the agency uses to decide whether to include waterways on the impaired list. Despite historical and repeated incidents of dangerous nitrate levels, the agency
Iowa is getting another major investment in rural health care. Here's how the $216 million could improve medical services for communities across the state.
A network of specialty clinics in northern Iowa closed suddenly Oct. 30 after it was no longer able to pay its employees. Court documents indicate Cedar Valley Medical Specialists, an independent and locally owned network of health providers across 26 locations in northeast Iowa, was over $15 million in debt with Linn County-based Farmers State Bank. In early October, Cedar Valley Medical Specialists’ legal team alleged the bank took control of the company’s accounts and would not release any funds. As a result, Cedar Valley Medical Specialists could not make payroll. Cedar Valley Medical Specialists’ legal team requested a temporary injunction so the business could access its funds, but a judge denied the request Oct. 27. The judge concluded Cedar Valley Medical Specialists was aware its assets could be blocked but didn’t take enough action to prevent it. Farmers State Bank had filed a petition to access Cedar Valley Medical Specialists’ collateral in May, alleging the company had not made sufficient payments toward their debt. The bank also requested a third-party receivership be established to manage the company’s finances going forward. Instead, the two parties agreed to appoint a chief restructuring officer to develop a financial management plan. Court filings
Mahaska Health team members Caleb Robinson, RN, and Audrianna Wilke, BSN, RN, Director of Inpatient Services, were recognized at the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) Annual Meeting in Des Moines in October at the Community Choice Convention Center. The IHA Hospital Hero Award recognizes hospital employees who go above and beyond...
Iowa's dental care crisis 'unacceptable'
MercyOne Air Med will celebrate the 40th anniversary of service to its patients across Iowa with ceremonies in Clinton, Iowa, Des Moines and Mason City. The Clinton ceremony will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the MercyOne Clinton Medical Center helipad at 1410 N. Fourth St. Other ceremonies...
(Des Moines, IA) — The state of Iowa is receiving more than $216 million in federal funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The funding includes an additional $7 million to mark the second year of Iowa’s Rural Health Transformation Program, known as Healthy Hometowns.
