G-O-P legislators say they’ll take action on Medicaid problem

G-O-P legislators won’t guarantee they’ll act so Iowa doctors, hospitals and nursing homes don’t see their Medicaid reimbursement rates cut 13 percent. The Human Services Council voted to make the cut to deal with a growing demand for Medicaid services, above the budget set aside. Senate President Mary Kramer, a republican from West Des Moines, is leading a task force that’ll solicit suggestions from health care providers.Kramer says lawmakers may reduce the number of Iowans who’re eligible for Medicaid and cut benefits in addition to reducing the reimbursement rates for providers. But she says they’re open to other suggestions. She says this is the time to look at “outside the box stuff.”House Republican Leader Christopher Rants of Sioux City says legislators won’t be pressured into action by the Human Services Council’s decision. He says the February 1st deadline was arbitrarily set and he says he won’t make a bad decision based on someone else’s deadline.House Speaker Brent Siegrist, a republican from Council Bluffs, says doctors, hospitals and nursing homes shouldn’t expect a quick fix. He says they’re going to try and address the issue by February 1st, but he says they don’t know if they can get it done.About 60 percent of Iowa Medicaid spending goes to nursing homes for the care of poor patients.