Branstad says state must control health care costs

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad shakes hands with Gundersen Lutheran physician Dr. Drew Pellett

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad says health care costs for the State of Iowa have gotten "out of control."

Branstad and Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds toured Gundersen Lutheran--Decorah Clinic on Tuesday morning.  The visit came one day after Branstad participated in a conference call with other Republican governors to discuss states' burdens under the federal Medicaid program.

Branstad says the governors' group is working with U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch to try to pass legislation that would give states more flexibility in the handling of Medicaid.  He says the portion of Iowa's state budget taken up by Medicaid payments has increased from 12 percent the last time he was governor to 25 percent now.

The governor also is pushing for a change in the way mental health programs are handled in Iowa, wanting more state control so programs in Iowa's 99 counties are more uniform.  He says he's hopeful the legislature will pass mental health funding reform soon.