State Audits The Privatized Medicaid Program
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A state audit says the legislature, governor and Iowa Department of Human Services have failed to follow a state law that requires full quarterly financial reports on the state’s privatized Medicaid program.
Auditor Mary Mosiman says in an audit released Monday that the state officials and lawmakers should have established a method to estimate program cost savings when they moved from state-managed Medicaid to a system managed by for-profit health care companies in 2016.
The state released widely varied estimates of savings last year ranging from $47 million to $235 million in the $5 billion program that oversees the health care program for poor and disabled Iowans.
Mosiman estimates the state saved $126 million in fiscal year 2018 compared to what it would have spent under state-managed care.
Iowa Labor Department Being Investigated
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – An investigation that found a hostile environment at Iowa’s labor department prompted the state to cut ties with two top administrators, including the longtime chief regulator for workplace deaths and injuries.
The case has also produced a whistleblower complaint alleging
Commissioner of Labor Michael Mauro and his deputy run the office “like a high school clique,” where friends receive favoritism and others are ridiculed and verbally threatened. So far, they have kept their jobs.
State agencies have kept the months-long investigation and upheaval inside the department confidential. But The Associated Press obtained records that paint an unflattering picture of the division that is supposed to protect workers from harm.
The case is a test for Mauro, 70, who has long survived as one of the few high-ranking Democrats in Iowa’s Republican-dominated state government.
Man Accused Of Throwing Dog Into Dumpster
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A Des Moines man accused of throwing into a dumpster a kennel with an emaciated dog trapped inside has pleaded not guilty.
Polk County court records say the pleas were filed electronically
Saturday for 35-year-old Derrick Peterson. The charges: animal neglect and abandonment of cats and dogs. A pretrial conference is scheduled Dec. 18.
The Animal Rescue League of Iowa says a passer-by found the Chihuahua Nov. 2 in a dumpster in Des Moines’ River Bend neighborhood and took the starving dog to Animal Rescue League.
League veterinarians say the dog, dubbed “Oscar,” weighed just 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms) and was suffering from a loss of muscle mass and fur as well as intestinal parasites. His fur was stained from being caged in his own filth for a long period.
Farm Related Bankruptcies Are Increasing
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The number of farms filing for bankruptcy is increasing across the Upper Midwest.
A new analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis shows 84 farms filed for bankruptcy in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana in the 12 months that ended in June. That’s more than double the number over the same period in 2013 and 2014.
The Star Tribune reports the increase in Chapter 12 filings reflect low prices for corn, soybeans, milk and beef. The situation has gotten worse for farmers since June because of the retaliatory tariffs that have closed the Chinese market for soybeans and held back exports of milk and beef. Chapter 12 bankruptcy allows for repayment of debt over three years.
Minneapolis Fed analyst Ron Wirtz says the bankruptcy trend has not yet peaked.
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13 Year Old Female Driver Leads Officers On High Speed Chase
BLUE GRASS, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a 13-year-old driver led officers on a chase that hit speeds of 100 mph (161 kph) in eastern Iowa.
She and five other young people in the van were taken into custody early Sunday after the van was stopped on the west side of Davenport.
The chase began in Blue Grass after the van was spotted by an officer checking a report of vehicle break-ins. The van was finally stopped after deflation devices punctured all four of its tires.
Authorities say the van was reported stolen in Rock Island, Illinois.
The young driver was arrested. The Associated Press generally doesn’t name juveniles accused of crimes.
