Company Challenges Iowa’s termination of Medicaid Contract

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A private company hired to help manage Iowa’s $4.2 billion Medicaid program is formally challenging its recent contract termination.

WellCare of Iowa says in a petition filed Monday that it wants the state Department of Human Services to temporarily halt its plans to terminate the company’s contract while the issue is sorted out in legal proceedings.

A WellCare spokeswoman says the company plans to file a lawsuit in district court.

A state official on Friday reaffirmed a judge’s recommendation that the state terminate WellCare’s contract over its contact with state officials during the bidding process and a failure to fully disclose information involving fraud or mismanagement.

The company challenges those characterizations and says they didn’t merit termination. A DHS spokeswoman says the department does not comment on pending litigation.