Iowa Granted Flexibility for Hawk-I and Medicaid Program Participants

Senator Chuck Grassley today made the following statement after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it would temporarily allow Iowa and its Medicaid and Hawk-I Program enrollees several areas of flexibility following the devastating floods and tornadoes that hit the state.  The waivers announced by the Department of Health and Human Services allow Iowa to work around administrative hurdles that might be encountered due to the flood and tornado damage.  For example, enrollees in the Hawk-I and Medicaid programs who live in federally declared disaster counties won’t have to look for records in the wreckage to prove they are eligible. Also, they won't be scrambling to pay their premiums to maintain their enrollment status.

 

As the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid and the SCHIP program, Grassley led the effort to secure the public health disaster declaration that made today's announcement possible and helped facilitate Iowa’s requests with the Department of Health and Human Services so the determinations could be made quickly.

 

Here is Grassley’s statement.

 

“This will help Iowans continue their Medicaid and Hawk-I program coverage after the floods and tornadoes that have devastated Iowa.  People need a little help and flexibility to get through these tough times, and this will ease the minds of many people who are living in a state of flux right now.”