This baseline report covers the process and implementation activities of the State Innovation Model (SIM) test grant in Iowa from pre-implementation (2015) through the first three quarters of the first implementation year (2016). The objective of the process and implementation evaluation is to describe the structure of the interventions and actions being utilized in the SIM initiative, along with identifying advances and challenges encountered during implementation.
A variety of methods were used to gather the information provided in this report. The University of Iowa Public Policy Center (PPC) team reviewed documents and collected information from pertinent websites, participated in bi-weekly phone conferences with the state SIM team and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), participated in monthly phone conferences with the state SIM team and the national evaluators, and conducted stakeholder interviews to understand how the SIM initiative was being implemented during this time period.