Last week the federal government granted Iowa permission to expand its Medicaid program by enabling newly eligible residents to purchase state-approved, subsidized private health insurance.
Pennsylvania currently is planning to make a similar request, and Iowa now is the second state to be permitted to move forward in this manner.  Arkansas received permission for a similar approach to Medicaid expansion in September.
While there are differences between the approved Arkansas and Iowa programs and the approach embodied in the Corbett administration’s “Healthy Pennsylvania” proposal, the Iowa approval suggests a continued willingness of the federal government to consider private insurance market alternatives to Medicaid expansion.
Learn more about the approved Iowa plan in this Kaiser Health News report.