Winneshiek Medical Center issues Letter to the Editor about Medicaid

Winneshiek Medical Center has written a Letter to the Editor about changes in the State of Iowa's handling of the Medicaid program.

Medicaid is a $4.2 billion program in Iowa.  The federal government pays 55 percent of that funding, while the State of Iowa pays 45 percent.
 
Governor Terry Branstad has ordered the Medicaid program to be supervised by private management companies in Iowa, saying the change will improve quality and access, promote accountability for outcomes and saving $51 million in the first six months along.
 
Four managed care organizations have been awarded contracts to administer Medicaid in Iowa--AmeriHealth Caritas, Amerigroup Iowa, United Healthcare Plan of the River Valley and WellCare Iowa.  Medicaid patients have been given a deadline of next Thursday, December 17th, to sign up with one of the four for-profit companies.  If a patient misses this deadline, the Iowa Department of Human Services will randomly assign to patients one of the four MCOs.
 
Winneshiek Medical Center has signed a contract with United Healthcare, one of the four MCOs the state has chosen, but not with any of the other three MCOs.
 
The Letter to the Editor from WMC says, "Other contracts with the three remaining MCOs are still under review and it is possible that the medical center may sign additional contracts, but only after receiving full disclosure and understanding of the payment terms and conditions."  The letter urges Medicaid patients to get more information on the website  www.winmedical.org.
 
Winneshiek Medical Center is also reminding patients in the letter that beginning January 1st Medicaid patients registering for services at Winneshiek Medical Center will need to bring two insurance cards with them-their Iowa Medicaid card and their new insurance card from the managed care organization they enrolled with.