Six Iowa Medicaid beneficiaries with serious disabilities sued Gov. Kim Reynolds and the head of the state Human Services Department in a proposed class-action lawsuit

in federal court alleging the state’s contracted managed-care organizations cut their monthly cost allowances for home- and community-based care, even though there was no change in their care needs. Approximately 15,000 Iowa Medicaid beneficiaries with serious disabilities ranging from multiple sclerosis to intellectual disabilities and brain injuries may have been affected by the cuts since Iowa shifted to private, for-profit managed-care plans in April 2016. The state’s Medicaid program has several waivers available to fund care services for individuals who prefer to live independently rather than in institutional facilities. While some of these programs have monthly cost limits, the plaintiffs each had received variances to increase their care budgets to facilitate independent living.