Iowa's Department of Human Services has awarded Medicaid managed-care contracts to AmeriHealth Caritas, Anthem, UnitedHealthcare and WellCare Health Plans, a move that will funnel the state's $4.2 billion Medicaid program into the hands of private insurers.
For the winners, it's a fresh source of revenue and profit in an era when more health insurers are relying on government programs to pad their finances. The three-year contracts, when finalized, go into effect Jan. 1. Anthem, UnitedHealthcare and WellCare are for-profit, publicly traded insurers that have large chunks of state Medicaid business across the nation. AmeriHealth is a not-for-profit insurer owned by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan and Independence Blue Cross.
Iowa has about 560,000 Medicaid beneficiaries. The state expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and this year decided to outsource its entire program under one managed-care system.
