Thursday, May 03, 2007
Physical Checkups Added To Medicaid, IowaCare
18,000 Iowans will be allowed to get checkups closer to home
(DES MOINES)— Today, Governor Chet Culver announced that regular physical checkups will soon be available for adults covered by Medicaid and a Medicaid expansion program known as IowaCare in Iowa. This change in policy will allow 18,000 Iowans to get physical checkups closer to home. Children are already covered.
“A regular physical exam is one of the best ways to stay healthy and catch problems early. I’m pleased to announce that we will soon make this essential service available to Iowa’s most at-risk residents,” said Governor Culver.
He said there will likely be an important secondary impact for children, since parents who have regular checkups are more likely to tend to the health needs of their children. “This development fits nicely with one of the major themes of my administration, which is to expand health care for all Iowa’s children and their parents,” said the Governor.
Of the 316,000 Iowans covered by Medicaid, about one-third are adults. Earlier this year, federal officials authorized coverage of regular physical exams. The Department of Human Services, which administers Medicaid, has filed rules designed to launch the new service in July. Another 18,000 adults are members of IowaCare, a Medicaid expansion program that offers limited benefits for individuals or families whose household income is at or below 200 percent of federal poverty levels, or about $2,200 monthly income for a family of two, and who are not eligible for regular Medicaid.
The new policy, approved by federal officials last week, will permit IowaCare members to get physicals from any physician who is enrolled as a Medicaid provider, meaning they can be scheduled close to home. Other IowaCare health services will continue to be offered only at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City or at Broadlawns Hospital in Des Moines.
IowaCare, launched in the summer of 2005, was created to avoid a harsh loss of federal funds. It uses previously unmatched state revenue and property tax money that supported the state’s charity care program at the two hospitals.