The Iowa Department of Human Services is withholding $44 million in payments from one of the insurers under Iowa privatized Medicaid program, citing unpaid claims that providers had submitted, the Des Moines Register reported. The amount withheld from Iowa Total Care is about one-third of the amount it would have otherwise paid the company in January. In a letter released Friday, Iowa Medicaid Director Michael Randol said that Iowa Total Care had not paid more than 100,000 claims that providers had submitted. “Ample opportunity was given [to Iowa Total Care] to remedy the issues,” Randol’s letter said. The state’s action Friday was the first time Iowa’s DHS has withheld payment to a Medicaid insurance provider. Iowa Total Care is an operating subsidiary of Centene Corp., which in March 2019 announced plans to acquire Wellcare Health Plans Inc. for $17.3 billion.