Iowa’s plans for the privatization of its Medicaid program will continue, at least for now. Two companies say Iowa was wrong to deny them contracts to manage Medicaid and wanted temporary stays, but Polk County District Court Judge Robert Blink wasnot persuaded.
"A disruption of the transition process will create substantial uncertainty in the marketplace for health services, disrupt delivery of these critical services to hundreds of thousands of Iowans, and potentially impose additional costs on stakeholders, not parties, to this process," says Judge Blink in his ruling.
Healthcare company Aetna says the state’s process for selecting companies to manage Medicaid was flawed. It wanted privatization plans stopped until next month when Judge Blink rules on the legality of the selection process conducted by the Iowa Department of Human Services.
"Aetna appreciates the judge’s consideration. We are disappointed in the outcome and are currently considering our options," says Aetna spokesperson Rohan Hutchings in an emailed statement.
WellCare was among four companies chosen to manage Iowa Medicaid, but its contract was tossed in December after the state determined it had violated rules of the bid process. WellCare was asking to continue preparations to take over Medicaid until Blink decides whether or not its contract should have been ended.
“We are reviewing the decision and evaluating options to address the factual and legal errors in Director Phipps’s decision," writes WellCare spokesperson Crystal Warwell Walker.
Janet Phipps is the director of Iowa's Department of Administrative Services. She made the final call to terminate WellCare's contract, after an administrative law judge ruled WellCare had violated the bid process by contacting the governor's chief healthcare advisor during a blackout period, and omitting details of previous settlements.
"We're pleased that our Medicaid members have certainty in their health plan choices," says a statement from DHS. The department is reassigning 134,000 Iowa Medicaid recipients who were initially auto-enrolled with WellCare.
Aetna, WellCare, and the state return to Blink's courtroom next month. Aetna is expected to continue advocating for a new selection process, WellCare will likely say the state fabricated a new standard when it tossed the company's contract, and DHS will argue for no change to the current path of Medicaid privatization.
