Here are four things to know.
1. The clinic, which offers confidential family planning services, education and reproductive healthcare, plans to close operations in Grinnell Nov. 7 and Marshalltown Nov. 14.
2. The clinic’s leader, executive director Mandi Beeghly, attributes the looming closures to the state’s switch to privately managed Medicaid, reports The Des Moines Register. Under the change, three private companies — Amerigroup, Amerihealth and UnitedHealthcare — are in charge of administering Iowa’s Medicaid program, which serves approximately 560,000 poor or disabled Iowans.
3. Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R), who ordered the shift, has stood by his decision, contending it will save the state money and result in more efficient healthcare, according to The Des Moines Register. However, the report notes, critics contend many small social service and healthcare agencies are struggling to maintain solvency, because the three management companies have imposed excessive rules on care providers and have been slow to pay bills for services.
4. According to Ms. Beeghly, the Marshalltown and Grinnell locations served nearly 1,800 patients last year. Amy McCoy, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Human Services, said in the report records indicate less than 33 percent of the clinic’s income was from Medicaid.
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