Iowa Governor Questions Republican Gubernatorial Candidate’s Plan To Reduce Medicaid Eligibility Limit

Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) on Sept. 4 criticized a plan proposed by gubernatorial candidate and former state Chief of Staff Doug Gross (R) to tighten income eligibility requirements for the state's Medicaid program and promised to "fight to make sure it doesn't happen," the Des Moines Register reports. Vilsack said that the plan would limit Medicaid eligibility to residents with annual incomes less than 100% of the federal poverty level, or $8,868 for an individual. The income eligibility requirements for several Iowa Medicaid expansion programs exceed federal eligibility requirements, the Register reports. Under a plan proposed by Gross, thousands of nursing home residents, individuals with disabilities and children in the state would lose access to Medicaid services, Vilsack said. However, Gross spokesperson Eric Woolson said that "Vilsack was distorting Gross' position," which calls for the state to evaluate Medicaid waiver programs "on a case-by-case basis to make sure that they are appropriate from a health standpoint and can be supported financially." Last week, Gross said that he would consult "experts in private industry" to help improve administration of the state's Medicaid program. In addition, Gross has said that Vilsack has "driven Iowa's Medicaid program into debt by promising more than it can deliver," the Register reports (Roos, Des Moines Register, 9/5). In February, Vilsack approved a $61 million bailout of the state's Medicaid program, and the state has estimated a $93 million deficit in the program next year (Associated Press, 9/3). Vilsack said that the state's Medicaid costs have increased as a result of the economic recession and increased unemployment (Des Moines Register, 9/5).