HEALTHY IOWA PLAN:  The draft Healthy Iowa Plan 1115 Waiver application is now available for public review and comment.  Comments must be received by June 17, 2013.  A summary of the plan was posted earlier.  Four public hearings have been set, along with a formal notice.

CHILD CARE DEVELOPMENT FUND: The Department is submitting its bi-annual Child Care Development Fund state plan. We request your input by June 13th, 2013 on the policies and practices that govern the child care assistance program, regulations for child care providers, and activities that support improving the quality of child care.

INTEGRATED HEALTH HOME: An Integrated Health Home(IHH) is a team of professionals working together to provide whole-person, patient-centered, coordinated care for adults with a serious mental illness (SMI) and children with a serious emotional disturbance (SED). The Integrated Health Home will be administered by the Medicaid Behavioral Health Care Managed care Organization (Magellan Behavioral Care of Iowa) and provided by community-based Integrated Health Homes. FAQand PowerPoint presentation.

STORM HELP: Twenty-three counties have been declared by the governor to be disaster areas in the wake of heavy rains in April. Low-income residents in these areas may be eligible for the state's disaster grant program. Follow the the "Disaster Assistance" link above for instructions on how to apply and other information.

INNOVATION GRANT: Iowa has received a $1.3 million grant to start development of an incentive-based health care payment plan to improve outcomes and slow the growth of costs, especially for the patients who battle chronic diseases.

LOW ERROR RATE: A new federal audit shows an exceptionally low error rate for Iowa's children's health insurance program. The Iowa Medicaid accuracy rate is also better than the national average.