Terry Branstad on Health Care

ObamaCare is unaffordable, unworkable, and unsustainable

First, Congress and the new Administration must repeal ObamaCare, because it is unaffordable, unworkable, and unsustainable. We must then replace it with health care reform that is affordable for Iowans, empowers the consumer to have high quality health care, and provides states the flexibility they need to afford and sustain their Medicaid programs.

In 2017, Iowans purchasing an ObamaCare health plan saw their premiums increase 43%. Early reports indicate some premiums in 2018 are expected to more than double. Health care reform must use market-driven strategies to give consumers affordable health care choices year after year. Although ObamaCare improved access in the short term it threatens access in the long-term due to its faulty design causing unaffordable costs for patients.

Transform mental health system to community-based model

As a result, we have created a new system where more Iowans have access to mental health services closer to home than ever before; more Iowans are covered with health insurance than ever before; and more than 80 new value-added services are now being offered under our modernized Medicaid program.

We've also replaced the old Medicaid system with a coordinated team of health-care professionals to ensure patients see the right provider at the right time. As a result of these reforms and innovation, we have improved the focus on health outcomes and saved the taxpayers $110 million.

Lifestyle changes make people healthier & save state money

Mental Health Care Reform: secure vulnerable Iowans

Vision for mental health reform:
• No statewide system of care
• County investment in services is not consistent or equitable
• Disparity in access, service levels of care, & quality
• Essential crisis services exist in only a few counties
• Reliance on property tax
• Goals:
• Establish a statewide system of care that both secures outcomes for vulnerable Iowans and is accountable to the public
• Reasonable balance between access, affordability, quality, and appropriateness.

Opposes government-run healthcare.

The Christian Coalition voter guide [is] one of the most powerful tools Christians have ever had to impact our society during elections. This simple tool has helped educate tens of millions of citizens across this nation as to where candidates for public office stand on key faith and family issues.

The CC survey summarizes candidate stances on the following topic: "Federal government run health care system"

Loosen "one-size-fits-all" approach to Medicaid.

As Governors, we are writing to you regarding the excessive constraints placed on us by healthcare-related federal mandates. One of our biggest concerns continues to be the Maintenance of Effort (MOE) provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which prevent states from managing their Medicaid programs for their unique Medicaid populations. We ask for your immediate action to remove these MOE requirements so that states are once again granted the flexibility to control their program costs and make necessary budget decisions.

Every Governor, Republican and Democrat, will face unprecedented budget challenges in the coming months. Efforts to regulate state operations impose greater uncertainty on our budgets for oncoming years and create a perfect storm when coupled with the current state of the economy.

Health and education are the primary cost drivers for most state budgets. Medicaid enrollment is up. Revenues are down. States are unable to afford the current Medicaid program, yet our hands are tied by the MOE requirements. The effect of the federal requirements is unconscionable; the federal requirements force Governors to cut other critical state programs, such as education, in order to fund a "one-size-fits-all" approach to Medicaid. Again, we ask you to lift the MOE requirements so that states may make difficult budget decisions in ways that reflect the needs of their residents.