Lame-duck governor pushes more privatization

Iowa Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner has released the following statement regarding Gov. Reynolds’ decision to privatize the state’s IT systems and operations.

“With just months left in her lame-duck tenure, Gov. Reynolds has made the unilateral decision to disrupt the lives of hundreds of public employees, severing their ties to IPERS and leaving them at the mercy of a private, out-of-state company,” Sen. Janice Weiner (D-Iowa City) said. 

“We’ve walked this privatization road before to disastrous effect. Thousands upon thousands of Iowans have suffered under Iowa’s privatized Medicaid mistake, without any cost savings for taxpayers,” Sen. Weiner said. “The Reynolds Administration tried this less than a year ago with the healthcare staff in our correctional facilities. There were no savings to be found there – some even predicted that costs would double. Why should we expect a better outcome here?”