Auditor: Iowa’s privatized Medicaid illegally denies care

By DAVID PITT
Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state audit has found that Iowa’s privatized Medicaid system has illegally denied services or care to program recipients, and both private insurance companies managing the system have violated terms of their contracts with the state. Auditor Rob Sand on Wednesday released the report from his investigation that examined cases from 2013 through 2019. He says his investigators found a massive increase in illegal denials of care under privatized Medicaid. Iowa Medicaid Director Elizabeth Matney rejected the report’s conclusions, arguing Sand was making an “apples to oranges comparison” that mischaracterized the current program.