NHeLP Comments on Iowa’s Amended Sec. 1115 Waiver Project

Executive Summary

In comments to the U.S. Department of of Health and Human Services (HHS), NHeLP urges the department to reject  Iowa’s amended Sec. 1115 Medicaid waiver demonstration project because it flawed in procedure and would flout Medicaid law. For example, Iowa’s amended Medicaid waiver project intends to rescind retroactive eligibility across Iowa’s Medicaid population, including children, people with disabilities, and older adults. NHeLP says Iowa’s “proposal erodes important protections for low-income populations without advancing any reasonable policy goals likely to promote the objectives of the Medicaid program. Section 1115 limits demonstration project to innovations that are likely to promote the objectives of the Medicaid program.”