Medicaid: What's to come

Big changes are on the way for anybody that depends on Medicaid.
     Over the next few weeks, the 560,000 Iowans that use Medicaid for their health care coverage will receive information about the Iowa Health Link program, which will shift the administration of Medicaid from the state to four private companies.
     This program was created in response to ongoing rise in medical care costs and the state’s increasing responsibility to fund Medicaid.
     Funding for Iowa’s $4.2 billion Medicaid budget is split between the state and the federal government, with the state’s contribution dependent on their per capita personal income. Since 2010, as Iowa’s economy has grown, so has its obligation to provide a greater portion of Medicaid funds. Where the state paid only 36.71 percent of the total Medicaid fund in 2010, it’s projected share for 2016 is 44.93 percent.

    Read the full article in the October 14 edition of the Hampton Chronicle.