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Unclear if Iowa lawmakers will touch privatized Medicaid

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December 24th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — There appears to be consensus among Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature that there are problems with Iowa’s privatized Medicaid program, but there is less agreement over what, if anything, legislators should do about it when they return to the Capitol in a few weeks.

Lawmakers in the Republican-controlled statehouse are expected to address a range of issues when they gather in January, including taxes and water quality. But Medicaid, the massive health care program for poor and disabled people in Iowa, is less certain to be on their to-do list.

That’s because there are a range of opinions about whether lawmakers should enact legislation to respond to ongoing issues, or if change should come administratively through the state agency that contracts with private insurance companies now running the program.