Healthcare providers in Iowa are concerned about the speed with which the state is attempting to privatize its Medicaid services, according to The Telegraph Herald.
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad's "Medicaid Modernization" plan aims to transfer more than half a million Medicaid enrollees to four out-of-state managed care organizations in four months, according to the report.
After announcing the four managed care organizations last week — Virginia Beach, Va.-based Amerigroup, Philadelphia-based AmeriHealth Caritas, Kingsport, Tenn.-based UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley and Tampa, Fla.-based WellCare — the state is in the process of finalizing contracts.
However, with nearly one-fifth of Iowa's population riding on the switch, many healthcare officials are saying a Jan. 1, 2016 deadline may be unrealistic, according to the report.
"It's going way too fast," Gary Gansemer, president and CEO of Dubuque, Iowa-based Hillcrest Family Services told The Telegraph Herald. "I attended a meeting Wednesday in Des Moines where representatives from the [managed care organizations] were present and they admitted that this time line for implementation is exceptionally fast."
Providers fear four months will not be sufficient time to contract with each of the organizations and inform consumers.
However, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Human Services said the deadline is realistic as the chosen organizations are experienced in working with large populations and that the state has offered managed care in the past, according to the report.
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