Independence Blue Cross Affiliate Exits Iowa Medicaid (Corrected)

Iowa is looking for a replacement for a managed care organization that helped launch the state’s privatized Medicaid program.

AmeriHealth Caritas Iowa Inc., an affiliate of Philadelphia-based Independence Blue Cross, exited the state’s Medicaid market Nov. 30 after it failed to negotiate new financial terms with the Iowa Department of Human Services. And one of the two remaining managed care operators said it can’t for the moment accept any new members.

The departure and inability to absorb new members are the latest bumps in the state’s journey, begun in August 2015, of assigning management of the majority of its Medicaid ...