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Former Gov. Culver Hears Medicaid Privatization Concerns

William Patrick Butler/Flickr

Former Democratic Gov. Chet Culver is now in the struggle surrounding the current Governor, Republican Terry Branstad’s plan for converting Iowa’s Medicaid program to private management. Culver is conducting several public forums this month.  In Coralville Tuesday, he listened for two hours to the fears of parents and others receiving Medicaid services about the move away from state management of the program.  He told the roughly 30 people attending the forum that privatizing Medicaid isn’t a partisan political issue.

Culver is holding similar forums in Cedar Rapids, Sioux City, and Davenport, and following up with a Medicaid protest on February 24th at the State Capitol.

“And so I’m doing these forums, and going to be involved in that rally to just make sure that our process works, and that policy makers hear directly from Iowans,” he says.  “That’s what this is about.”

Culver told the Coralville forum that he’s personally engaging in the Medicaid issue because it’s Iowa’s most important public policy decision in the last 50-years.

Also at the Coralville forum was Governor Branstad’s former press secretary, Jimmy Centers.  He now heads an organization called “Priorities for Iowa” and was distributing literature saying Iowans have a choice providing the same Medicaid services, but saving money for taxpayers who pay the bill.