Branstad asks feds to approve 'IA-based' healthcare plan

Gov. Terry Branstad filed a waiver request with federal officials on Friday, seeking expedited approval for a statewide program to expand access to health care for thousands of lower-income Iowans. "Our plan passed with bipartisan support and is designed to increase access, drive personal health ownership, and reform our health care delivery program to pay for quality, not quantity, of health care delivered," Branstad said in a letter to Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Kathleen Sebelius. The legislation approved by Iowa lawmakers in May creates a new public health care program for individuals earning up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level and fully subsidizes the purchase of private insurance for those making up to 138 percent.