Companies managing Medicaid in Iowa report multi-million dollar losses: 6 takeaways

The private companies managing Iowa's medicaid program are losing millions of dollars, according to reports they filed with the state, The Des Moines Register reports

Here's what you should know.

 

1. AmeriHealth Caritas reported a $42.6 million deficit in the first six months of 2016. Amerigroup reported it lost $66.7 million. UnitedHealthcare did not breakout Iowa numbers in its report.

 

2. The companies took over the Iowa's Medicaid program on April 1. The move was predicted it would save the state millions of dollars over time, but some were hesitant of the move at the time, citing a fear that the companies would demand higher payments from the state after they incur losses.

 

3. A representative of Amerigroup said said the company lost more than it had anticipated. A representative of Amerihealth would not disclose if the losses were higher than expected. Although both company knew that initial losses would be part of the implementation.

 

4. Sen. Joe Bolkcom (Iowa City-D) is predicting that the management companies will want to "renegotiate the contracts if they're losing too much money." Until that happens, he fears the companies will clamp down on the service they cover.

 

5. Amy McCoy, a spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services, said the reports were right in line with what was expected.

 

6. In addition to the early losses, each company spent more than $83 million in Iowa last year. Brad Wright, a health policy professor with the University of Iowa, said the new filings echo problems in other areas of healthcare, although the results are still early.

 

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