DES MOINES — Senator Pam Jochum of Dubuque has formally asked Mary Mosiman, the Auditor of the State of Iowa, to “audit the Iowa Medicaid program and the private managed care companies to document and determine the amount of ‘savings’ generated by privatizing the Iowa Medicaid program.”
“Auditor Mosiman has said her unofficial office motto is, ‘In God We Trust…Everyone Else We Audit,’ said Jochum. “That’s exactly the attitude we should all take to the suspect claims being made about Iowa’s disastrous Medicaid privatization.”
Senator Jochum said Auditor Mosiman’s office should subpoena documents from the Reynolds Administration and from private companies to determine if “Iowans are really saving money by paying out of state, for-profit insurance companies to care for our most vulnerable.”
In her letter to Mosiman, Senator Jochum noted that she had earlier asked the Reynolds Administration to provide the calculations related to Medicaid savings. She described the response–single sheet of paper claiming almost a half billion dollars in savings—as “inadequate.”
Senator Pam Jochum has represented Dubuque in the Iowa House and then the Iowa Senate by 1993. From 2013 to 2016, she served as the President of the Iowa Senate.
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Text of Senator Jochum’s letter to Auditor Mosiman:
May 22, 2018
Mary Mosiman
Auditor of State
State of Iowa
Capitol Building
Des Moines, IA 50319
Auditor Mosiman,
I am writing today to officially request that you and your office audit the Iowa Medicaid program and the private managed care companies to document and determine the amount of “savings” generated by privatizing the Iowa Medicaid program.
You serve as the “Taxpayers’ Watchdog.” The amount of savings predicted and reported by the Iowa Department of Human Services has continually changed. Iowans deserve a better answer. Iowans deserve to know if their taxpayer funds are being used in the most efficient way.
Your office should subpoena the necessary documentation from the Department of Human Services and the private companies to determine if Iowans are really saving money by paying out of state, for-profit insurance companies to care for our most vulnerable.
I recently asked the Department of Human Services to show me the calculations related to Medicaid savings and I received the attached inadequate response. It is time for you and your office to open a special investigation so Iowans can be assured their taxpayer funds are being used effectively and efficiently.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
State Senator Pam Jochum
