Black Hawk County may sue over unpaid Country View Medicaid claims

Nov. 14--WATERLOO -- Black Hawk County claims UnitedHealthcare has shorted the Country View care center by hundreds of thousands of dollars in Medicaid claims.

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to hire outside legal counsel to attempt to collect between $511,000 and $584,000 in claims for residents at the county-operated nursing home's unit for persistent mental illness.

Assistant County Attorney Michael Treinen said UnitedHealthcare has only offered roughly $144,000 to settle the issue.

"That is why further action has been authorized on this claim," Treinen said. "The supervisors have concluded ... this is too much public money to ignore."

The supervisors have retained attorney Craig Sieverding, of the Davis Brown law firm in Des Moines, to help develop the county's case for reimbursement.

"If that is not successful to your satisfaction, then we will proceed with the filing of a lawsuit in this matter and it would go on from there," said Assistant County Attorney Pete Burk.

The supervisors discussed the issue in closed session last week before authorizing Treinen to engage Sieverding, who has experience in insurance litigation.

Supervisor Tom Little said his main concern was ensuring the board is kept up to date with how much money the county was spending in legal fees.

Medicaid is a federal program, managed by the states, that provides care to poor and disabled residents. Iowa has privatized management of its $5 billion Medicaid program, covering 600,000 residents, to UnitedHealthcare and Amerigroup.

UnitedHealthcare officials were unable to provide a statement on the Country View situation by Tuesday night.

Country View is a county operated nursing center, which at one point last year had more than 90 percent of its 140 residents covered through the Medicaid program. County officials then said shortfalls in Medicaid funding contributed to staggering budget deficits at the nursing home.

The supervisors voted in October to sell Country View to Pritok Capital, a private firm based in Skokie, Ill., for $4 million. Closing on that transaction is expected by the end of December.

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