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Even though lawmakers in the Iowa Senate voted to stop privatization of the state's Medicaid program last week, the measure is unlikely to pass in the Iowa House. The system is still slated to switch to private management on March 1 unless the federal government steps in. (Moon and Kieffer, 2/15)

A bill aimed at providing comprehensive legislative oversight to the state’s Medicaid privatization program was approved without opposition Monday by the Iowa Senate Human Resources Committee. Senate File 2107 cleared the panel with bipartisan support. That was in sharp contrast to a Senate floor vote last week when Republicans all lined up against a Democratic bill to repeal Gov. Terry Branstad’s plan to have private companies manage the Medicaid program. (Petroski, 2/15)

A company ejected from Iowa’s controversial plan to privatize Medicaid management failed to show the state acted improperly, a judge said in a ruling made public Monday. WellCare’s lucrative multi-million contract was terminated by Iowa in December following court testimony and records showing company officials — including former state representatives-turned WellCare operatives Christopher Rants and Renee Schulte — engaged in prohibited communications, including an effort to uncover the secret identities of committee members reviewing the bids. (Clayworth, 2/15)