Coming Your Way
Expanded Medicaid Services
Fall 2005

This July the passage of the IowaCare Medicaid Reform Act (House File 841) began the process of expanding Medical Assistance Program eligibility to include adults age 19 through 64. Service providers under this Act are the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC), Broadlawns Hospital in Polk County, and the four state mental health institutes at Cherokee, Clarinda, Independence, and Mount Pleasant.

Covered benefits will include inpatient and outpatient hospital services, physician or licensed nurse practitioner services, dental services, and transportation by the provider. Participants will get a medical exam and personal health improvement plan within 90 days of enrollment. They will also have access to a pharmacy assistance clearinghouse, and a 24-hour medical information hotline to assist with choices about emergency room use. Participants will pay premiums and co-payments that are determined using a sliding scale based on the person’s annual income.

The IowaCare Act also strives to rebalance long-term care by increasing the number of Medicaid participants eligible for the HCBS waiver programs. It will increase level of care requirements for Medicaid-reimbursed nursing facility services, and maintain current requirements for Home and Community-Based Waiver services.  

This legislation fosters the promotion of health care partnerships by calling upon DHS to: Develop “dental homes” that provide preventive dental care for Medicaid recipients Expand the use of electronic medical records Identify barriers to medical care for people with mental retardation or developmental disabilities Implement a provider incentive payment program Offer a home and community-based services (HCBS) waiver to provide services for 300 children with a DSM-IV diagnosis that results in functional impairment and the need for an institutional level of care Provide dietary counseling to encourage weight loss Reduce smoking among Medicaid recipients to less than 1% of children, 10% of adults

To learn more, visit the Iowa Medicaid Enterprise web site.

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