“Rural Iowans need higher wages. Rural businesses need skilled workers and more customers,” said Kinney, a farmer and retired deputy sheriff. “At the Sigourney Library meeting, I’ll be listening for ideas that will help create jobs and economic prosperity across our state.
The State Senator encouraged people to bring their suggestions.
“This will be a discussion, not a lecture,” said Kinney. “The best ideas often appear when we get together and listen to each other.”
Iowa Senate News Release
Senate Democratic Leader Rob Hogg: (515) 281-3901
For Immediate Release: September 28, 2017
Reaction by Senate Democratic Leader Rob Hogg
to Iowa taxpayers’ money going to pay for GOP misdeeds
“Iowans are rightfully disgusted by the harassment, discrimination, and retaliation against Kirsten Anderson and other legislative staff.
“They are outraged that their tax dollars are going to be used to pay $1.75 million because of the misconduct and mismanagement by Republican Senators.
“When a jury delivered the verdict against Senate Republicans in July, I called on all Senators to work together to fix this problem. Unfortunately, Senate Republicans have ignored the calls for action and Iowa taxpayers are paying the price.”
Statement by Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames, Ranking Member of the Senate Education Committee
“Reynolds apparently wants to forget about the nearly 250,000 students who attend Iowa’s colleges and universities, but they really took it on the chin from her budget. SF 130 resulted in $4.75 million being cut from the community colleges, $9.24 million cut from the University of Iowa, $8.99 million from Iowa State, and $2.52 million from UNI. Private college students ducked any cut for FY2017, but they lost $2.8 million from their Iowa Tuition Grant scholarship fund for this school year.
“As a direct result of Reynolds’ education cuts, Regents university students this fall got a ‘welcome back’ surprise of a steep tuition hike. At ISU, the increase was two and a half times what students had initially been told.
“Bad enough that Reynolds would levy a ‘tuition tax increase’ on students and their families, but then to fib about it and pretend it didn’t happen is just dishonest. Iowans deserve better.”
Iowa Senate News Release For Immediate Release: Wednesday, September 20, 2017
This is a statement from Sen. Joe Bolkcom, ranking member of the Senate Appropriation Committee
“This is the third time we have seen a budget shortfall for Fiscal Year 17. Governor Reynolds and legislative Republicans have created a budget mess by failing to grow Iowa’s economy. They have failed to keep their promises to increase family incomes by 25 percent and to create more than 200,000 new jobs.
“Economic prosperity and fiscal responsibility can only return if Governor Reynolds and Republican legislators start working in a bipartisan way to make smart investments in Iowa workers and their families.”
State Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames, the Ranking Member of the Senate Education Committee, released a statement in response to today’s meeting of Tuition Task Force with the Iowa Board of Regents:
“In a series of meetings, Iowans overwhelmingly urged the Board of Regents not to impose years of sharp tuition increases on Iowa students and their families.
“Let’s be clear. During the 2017 session, Republicans balanced the state budget by cutting university funding, forcing a tuition increase this year of more than twice what the Board of Regents had proposed. Now, instead of ending huge giveaways to out-of-state corporations, Governor Reynolds and legislative Republicans hope a steep, multi-year ‘tuition tax’ on Iowa students will balance Iowa’s busted state budget.
“However, making college much more costly for Iowa students will only make things worse. Iowa is in a downward spiral. Our state’s lack of skilled workers prevents strong economic growth. The lack of economic growth creates a budget deficit. Republicans cut education to balance the budget. Those cuts worsen our skilled worker shortage.
“The Republican plan to balance the budget through a ‘tuition tax’ on Iowa families will hurt Iowa’s economy and should be rejected.”
Iowa Senate News Release For Immediate Release: Aug. 2, 2017
State Senator Rita Hart of Wheatland highlighted several bipartisan ways to reinvest in rural Iowa and small towns in a letter to Governor Kim Reynolds on August 1. Hart, former chair of the Iowa Senate’s Economic Growth Committee, offered ways to revitalize rural Iowa and indicated her strong desire to focus on workforce training.
“Extraordinary, bipartisan efforts need to be taken during the 2018 session to support efforts that will result in enough highly skilled workers in our small towns and rural communities to meet existing business demands throughout the state as well as create new business opportunity,” Hart wrote in her letter to Reynolds.
Hart’s suggestions for reinvesting in rural Iowa and small towns include:
Ensuring safe, affordable housing for Iowa families.
Enhancing cultural and community attractions.
Access to reliable high-speed Internet.
Encouraging a regional approach to economic development that supports rural revitalization.
Hart also expressed a willingness to work with Governor Reynolds on workforce training initiatives. She noted that in previous sessions, they had worked together to craft bipartisan solutions, such as keeping tuition affordable at Iowa’s universities and community colleges and funding an adult literacy program.
“Like many Iowans, Senate Democrats remain concerned about funding cuts to Iowa universities and community colleges that were approved during the 2017 session,” Hart wrote. “Those cuts have a negative impact at a time when we need to invest more in Iowa’s current and future workforce training.”
Senator Rita Hart of Wheatland is hosting a non-partisan summit to discuss improving water quality in Iowa.
The event will be from 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, August 1, at Central DeWitt High School, 425 E. 11th Street, DeWitt. Doors will open at 5 p.m. and several organizations will have informational tables in the atrium.
A number of local and statewide organizations will participate in the summit.
“I invite the public to come and learn from the experts and begin to discuss the challenge of balancing the needs of the agricultural economy and wastewater management with the demand for clean water,” said Senator Hart.
The Board of Regents Tuition Task Force has canceled its July 27th meeting due to a lack of participation by Republican legislators and members of the Reynolds Administration.
According to the Board of Regents’ web site, the task force was “established to facilitate public discussion regarding the issue of tuition at Iowa’s public universities. The task force will examine the core issues and strategies central to the process of setting tuition at the three Regent Universities and welcomes input from legislative and business stakeholders, university representatives, and the public.”
The July 27th meeting would have been the first of four public meetings on future tuition policy. The Board of Regents announced the meeting was canceled due to lack of participation. Confirmed participants included the members of the taskforce, Iowa Workforce Development, and Democratic members of the Iowa House and Senate.
“I’m disappointed that Republican legislators, Governor Reynolds’ office, and other Reynolds state agencies failed to indicate any interest in participating in tomorrow’s Regents’ Tuition Task Force meeting,” said Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Education Committee. “Republican legislators especially need to participate because their budget cuts to the state universities this year have caused steep tuition increases, more than double what the Board of Regents had initially planned. These late increases have slammed Iowa’s college students and their parents.”
The remaining meetings on student tuition and fees are scheduled to be held at college campuses when the majority of students won’t be there: August 7 at the University of Northern Iowa; August 9 at Iowa State University; and, August 14 at the University of Iowa.
“All the meetings should be rescheduled to days when students are actually on campus,” said Quirmbach. “That way we can hear from the people we are counting on to be the next generation of Iowa innovators and leaders. Student voices need to be heard—and listened to!”
Iowa Pediatrician Amy Shriver, MD, and State Senator Janet Peterson support allowing parents unable to buy insurance on the individual market to buy into hawk-i, Iowa’s children’s health insurance plan..
July 24, 2017 (Des Moines) Today at the Iowa Statehouse, a state senator and an Iowa pediatrician proposed a plan to protect more than 11,000 Iowa children from losing health insurance on January 1 of next year. The children’s parents are among those who would lose all access to health insurance if the individual market in Iowa collapses or the policies in the individual market are not affordable.
“There is a very real possibility that 72,000 Iowans could be without health insurance next year. Governor Reynolds should immediately ask the Trump Administration to allow Iowa families to purchase health insurance for their children through hawk-i, Iowa’s children’s health insurance program,” said State Senator Janet Petersen of Des Moines. “This is a simple, affordable and straightforward solution that would give thousands of Iowa families the certainty that health care will at least be there for their children.”
Hawk-i provides health and dental insurance to children aged 18 and under from lower income families. Parents pay premiums on a sliding scale and the rest of the costs are picked up by the state and federal government. The program was established with strong bipartisan support in 1999. Iowa’s program has earned widespread praise for providing high quality care, being easy to use, and having low administrative costs.
Under the proposal, Iowa families unable to purchase health insurance elsewhere could buy insurance for their children through hawk-i. Parents would pay the full cost of the premiums, which are expected to be affordable due to the relatively low cost of insuring children.
“We already collect premiums based on a family’s ability to pay,” said Petersen. “We aren’t asking for additional federal or state dollars to make this plan happen. All we need is the federal government’s permission to allow Iowa parents to buy into hawk-i.”
Dr. Amy Shriver, a Des Moines pediatrician, said: “Access to healthcare, including oral care, is essential to children’s healthy development and future success. Children learn best when they are healthy and safe. Children need regular, preventive well-child checkups.”
Petersen’s experience with these issues includes her past service on the hawk-i Board of Directors and years of experience working with insurance issues as a leading member of the Iowa Senate’s Commerce Committee.
“Iowa families on the individual market are small business owners, self-employed, or work for organizations that don’t offer group plans. They are just a few short months away from losing their health insurance and are without affordable alternatives. With no sign of a viable solution coming from Congress, we need Governor Reynolds to act,” said Petersen. “Governor Reynolds, please ease these parents’ fears. Use your power to push for a solution Iowans can actually afford – especially for our kids.”
Summary: Keeping Iowa’s Kids Insured
Background:
Iowa has consistently ranked in the top states in the country for children’s access to health care and dental care.
Iowa’s Children’s Health Insurance Program provides coverage to over 60,000 children.
The covered services under hawk-i are approximately equivalent to the benefit package of the state’s largest HMO at the time the program was initiated.
Providing medical care through health insurance that includes essential health benefits is less costly, produces better results, and helps prevent unnecessary, costly visits to emergency rooms.
The threat to health care coverage for more than 11,000 Iowa children:
It is possible that Iowa will have no insurance plans available in the 2018 individual market. Wellmark and Aetna have already dropped out. Medica intends to stay in the marketplace and has requested a 43% rate increase. There is no guarantee Medica will not back out later.
Iowa’s Insurance Commissioner has responded to the problems with the individual market by with a “Stop Gap Proposal” that is pending with CMS. The “Stop Gap Proposal” would use the federal funding that today provides ACA subsidies and cost sharing reductions to allow Iowans to purchase a public option plan, similar to a silver level ACA plan. This plan will be available for purchase to all Iowans, some with a subsidy. Families earning more than over 400% of the federal poverty level would not be eligible for a subsidy.
Both options under the “Stop Gap Proposal” will be very expensive. With Medica’s premiums going up 43%, many families will not be able to afford the plans, even if they get a subsidy. can only buy into the program in January and must stay in all year to remain eligible.
The Iowa Senate Democrats’ Expanded hawk-i Proposal: Making sure more than 11,000 kids have health care
More than 11,000 Iowa children receive their insurance coverage through an individual market plan purchased by their parents. They will not have access to health care if their parents cannot afford to buy a Medica or Stop Gap plan or the plans are not available.
In order to keep children insured, it is proposed to allow parents to buy into the hawk-i plan for their children ages 18 and below. It could also cover children up to age 26 as all private plans must currently do.
Expanded hawk-i would be available to families with incomes above 300% of the federal poverty level. (Those below 300% are already eligible for hawk-i.)
Conclusion: Governor Reynolds should ask CMS for emergency approval to allow Iowa parents with incomes over 300% of the federal poverty level to purchase, without subsidy, hawk-i coverage for their children. These families may be without any other options in Iowa in 2018.
Sept. 21, 2017
July 25, 2017