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Iowa House Republicans unveiled a comprehensive plan to provide oversight of Gov. Terry Branstad's controversial shift of the state's Medicaid health care program to private management companies. House Speaker Linda Upmeyer said Thursday the proposal will add consumer protections and accountability measures to ensure that patients receive high-quality care, and to prevent fraud and waste of taxpayer dollars. (Petroski, 4/7)

House Republicans on Thursday announced a new proposal for state oversight of Iowa’s privatized Medicaid program, which they say emphasizes transparency. But it’s unclear whether Senate Democrats will fully embrace the plan. The proposal would require the three private companies now running the program to provide information for quarterly and annual progress reports to lawmakers. The data also would be posted online. (4/7)

State Medicaid regulators pursuing orthodontists who they claim bilked Texas out of tens of millions of dollars suffered another decisive setback Thursday, when an appeals court ruled investigators hadn’t proven any fraud had occurred in one of the state’s largest cases. Unless the state appeals the decision to the Texas Supreme Court, it means Texas must return millions of dollars in payments it has withheld from the Houston-based Antoine Dental Center. (Dexheimer, 4/7)