The investigation of Des Moines Register Iowas’ charges suffered for a controversial privatized Medicaid system and charge at least $23.6 million in penalties in more than a dozen states because of its mismanagement. Iowa Total Care was sub a subsidiary of Centene, the health care provider got 14 points on its evaluation and was awarded a stated Medicaid contract in May.
Iowa Total Care got the spot for the work and managing Iowa’s annual $4.8 billion Medicaid program.
AmeriHealth Caritas was suffering from its net worth and Iowa Total Care took advantage of their situation.
Another side of the history that health care providers released from the federal data are that Iowa’s unemployment rises consecutively. Gov. Kim Reynolds, responding complaints of labor shortage and cut unemployment benefits for tens of thousands of workers to spur a return to work however, after the situation in just a month this was the largest growth that comes to Iowa, compensations increased to 7,400 jobs and rising to 1.5 million.
In the month of June, the labor force increased by 6,400 to about 1.7 million and Iowa has rejoined the labor force which means they are actively looking for a job and the unemployment rate continued to rise because of them.
Back on the real track, Iowa’s Total care criticized how they managed their company this was stated by Sen. Pam Jochum “If history teaches us anything, then this is an indication that we’re in more trouble,”
Centene companies and subsidiaries face a lot of fines. Data records show in the year 2013 the companies reduced pay in more than a dozen states and it cost the company $100,000 and more.
Based on the research;
It shows here the Dozens of the sanctions were for non-compliance with federal or state Medicaid contracts or rules, including:
- Centene Subsidiaries are Failing to promptly pay medical claims;
- Inadequacies in the medical networks that provide poor and elderly people access to doctors; The company are just earning money for the sake of their CEO
- Losing the future of their insurer and for failures in meeting goals such as child health check-up rate requirements, which are intended to improve health and reduce long-term medical costs.
Centene starts the year facing the federal lawsuit in January alleges the St. Louisbased company has failed to provide adequate access to doctors in at least 15 states. In addition, Company approved the settlement in 2016 over challenges to its business practices. Iowa Total Care reported spending $23.6 million because of the company’s penalty and loss of incentives to its subsidiaries as part of its competitive bid requirement.
The company spent $7.5 million for Kentucky to settle a breach of contract lawsuit alleging it wrongfully terminated its Medicaid agreement and cost the state $28 million to $40 million.
Centene also agreed to give $4.5 million just to settle a lawsuit alleging it had failed to give overtime pay for their nurses in multiple states, including Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri, and more. Centene’s Ohio subsidiary, Buckeye Community Health Plan, for example, was the subject of four increasingly larger individual noncompliance sanctions — each between $1 million to $4 million — for failure to meet minimum performance standards for four consecutive years beginning in 2013.
To continue the Medicaid health program Iowa has picked one of the country’s largest healthcare companies and according to the Iowa Department of Human Services that at the beginning of the year 2019 the company will replace Ameri Health Caritas. The state company provided no details on why it is giving a contract to Centene’s subsidiary, Iowa Total Care, but not to a second bidder, trusted health plan.
The other companies decided to leave their state last fall by losing hundreds of millions of dollars covering care for more than 200,000 poor or disabled Iowans on Medicaid.
After the termination, AmeriHealth’s opened the door for Iowa Total Care by being rejected and suffering the company’s rocky situation with the state. Describing as haphazard, inconsistent, inaccurate, arbitrary, and capricious. Iowa Total Care is part of a group of three losing bidders that overcoming the challenge of the decision of the state.
Iowa Total Care’s 2015 complaints ultimately were determined valid, specifically regarding a bid from WellCare, one of four companies that initially was awarded a contract. After court testimony, Iowa decided to adopt an administrative judge recommendation to terminate WellCare’s contract in 2015 including former state representatives-turned WellCare operatives Christopher Rants and Schulte— engaged to uncover the identities of the committee members reviewing the bids.
