Iowa Senate Democrats

Fighting for a Better Deal for Iowans.

  • Mathis, Sweeney: Forgive Medicare Loans

    Hospitals and our front-line workers are the backbone of our community.  Now, more than ever, we need to support them.  As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, our hospital systems have been strained to a degree that will put many of them at risk of closing. 

    In March of 2020, our health providers entered a fiscal crisis that forced the furlough of more than 1.4 million workers in just a six-week period. As a result, Congress approved some solutions that will provide temporary relief in the form of grants.  However, the relief they provided was not nearly enough. 

    According to the American Hospital Association, hospitals across the country will lose more than two-hundred billion dollars by the end of June.  This is just the tip of the iceberg as these numbers will continue to grow as flu season and the possibility of a COVID-19 resurgence comes again this fall.

    Here in Iowa, our hospitals have supported our communities in so many ways.  From large urban centers to suburban communities to our rural counties, our hospitals are the key to a thriving community. 

    Hospitals and other healthcare providers accessed advanced payments through the CARES Act Medicare Loan Fund to bridge losses. Loan forgiveness is vitally important and is much more critical now, given the fact that hospital losses have far exceeded the relief from Cares Act grants. The losses continue, as the ramp up is gradual. 

    We need Congress to stand up and support our hospitals by forgiving the Cares Act Medicare loans that have been issued.  The cost of this pandemic has hit many sectors of the economy and our health care system is no exception.  We need Congress to act and act fast to protect our hospitals and our front-line workers.  

    State Senator Annette Sweeney
    Senate District 25
    R-Alden    		State Senator Liz Mathis
    Senate District 34
    D-Hiawatha

    Sen. Sweeney is chair of the Senate Human Resources Committee and Sen. Mathis is ranking member.

  • Legislative Democrats’ COVID-19 Recovery Agenda

    News Release
    June 1, 2020

    Focus on Keeping Iowans Healthy and Restoring Financial Security  

    DES MOINES – Democratic lawmakers outlined their plan today to address the needs of Iowa families and business during the upcoming session of the Iowa Legislature. 

    The plan was developed by lawmakers to keep legislators focused during the final days of the 2020 session on addressing problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Iowans have worked hard to protect each other from the spread of COVID-19 and deserve to be at the front of the line in our recovery efforts,” Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen said. “We need to stay focused on fixing the problems created by the pandemic and passing a balanced budget.”

    “In these uncertain times, the state needs to be more transparent than ever so Iowans have all the information available to protect their family, open their business, or go back to the office,” said House Democratic Leader Todd Prichard. “When session starts again on Wednesday, the Legislature must also fulfill its duty to provide oversight and make sure our Iowa tax dollars are spent wisely.” 

    In releasing the COVID recovery agenda, the two leaders also said lawmakers must work together to find solutions that balance the physical health and safety of Iowans with their need to work and put food on the table. The full agenda is below.

    COVID 19 Recovery Agenda

    Keeping Iowans Healthy 

    • Access to affordable health care, including mental health
    • Ensure universal access to COVID testing, contact tracing and PPE in all 99 counties
    • Keep hospitals and local health care clinics open 
    • Free coronavirus vaccine once available
    • Support mitigation efforts by cities, counties and emergency management commissions 
    • Prepare for fall COVID resurgence 

     Opening Businesses Safely & Protecting Workers

    • Help small businesses reopen safely and help them stay open 
    • Tests for Iowans returning to the workforce and retesting at workplaces when an employee tests positive
    • Financial security for businesses and workers with COVID positive case
    • Expand whistleblower protections and workers compensation during pandemics, including first responders and health care workers  
    • Expand protections for renters and homeowners during pandemics and severe economic downturns
    • Expand community college opportunities to help Iowans get back to work
    • Paid pandemic leave for workers to stay home when they are sick 

    Kids Learning & Growing Safely

    • Protect K-12 public education funding 
    • Provide universal access to technology and home-based internet for student
    • Provide PPE for all educators and students
    • Increase childcare services for Iowa families
    • Provide timely guidance to schools, parents and students on reopening


    COVID Transparency & Accountability 

    • Expand vote-at-home opportunities statewide
    • Oversight of Test Iowa and other no-bid contracts
    • Require immediate public notification of COVID outbreaks and end threshold reporting requirement
    • Require OSHA inspections and enforcement during health care emergencies

     –  end –

  • Petersen: Let’s give Iowans a healthier way to restart the economy

    By State Senator Janet Petersen

    Iowans have made big sacrifices to protect our families, friends and neighbors.

    Businesses have been forced to close, people were laid off, and many parents are now at-home teachers—all while keeping a distance from the kind of community and family support we count on during a crisis.

    And then there’s the lack of leadership at the top.

    Save grandma or save the economy. Save Iowans working in meatpacking plants or save protein. Protect privacy or protect virus-outbreak data. Protect health or protect freedom of religion. Save Iowa’s economy or save ourselves.

    These are false choices. Even Governor Reynolds knows it.

    Yet, the Governor and Republican legislators continue to deliver narratives that are heavy on spin and light on facts and data.

    Ignoring the warnings of health experts is more than dangerous. It’s deadly for our health and economy.

    Iowa hasn’t flattened the curve. The number of COVID-19 cases is still increasing, and nationally ranked hotspots are popping up all over the state.

    Despite the numbers and the clear warnings from health experts in Iowa and across the country, Governor Reynolds is distancing Iowans from the facts with ribbon-cutting rhetoric.

    Instead, Iowans deserve:

    COVID-19 REPORTING WE CAN TRUST: Iowans need daily access to ZIP Code-specific COVID-19 numbers. Data from the botched Test Iowa program is giving us inaccurate information on cases, deaths, hospitalizations and contact tracing. It is unacceptable that the Governor is allowing workplaces to hide COVID-19 outbreak information from employees, customers and the public. 

    ACCURATE, ACCESSIBLE & TIMELY TESTING: Nebraska legislators are calling for their Governor to put the kibosh on the failed Test Nebraska program. Governor Reynolds’s $26 million no-bid, no-results Test Iowa program is a failure. Iowans deserve access to testing and contact tracing in all 99 counties, every day. Local county health departments should be in charge of running testing and contact-tracing programs. 

    WORKPLACE & SAFETY NET POLICIES TO PREVENT SUPER-SPREAD: Keeping Iowans safe will require new policies that incentivize people to stay home instead of spread COVID-19 because they are pressured to go to work. We need a better safety net, more accountability for taxpayer dollars, and an end to sweetheart deals for campaign donors.

    SAFE ACCESS TO FOOD, HEALTH CARE & DEMOCRACY: One of the easiest ways to make sure Iowans don’t go hungry is to expand nutrition assistance programs. They help families access food, while providing business for our local grocery stores and farmers. The Legislature also should extend telemedicine parity so that Iowans can get health care no matter where they live. And we ought to access federal aid to help more Iowans safely vote from home in the November general election. 

    ACCESS TO BROADBAND & TECHNOLOGY: Finally, the first day back to school will look completely different than what we’ve seen in our lifetimes. That’s why every Iowa family and child needs access to broadband and technology. Let’s expand Iowa’s networks. It will pay off in many ways for decades to come.

    It is time to give Iowans confidence that the decisions to reopen ourbusinesses, local schools, childcare facilities, and houses of worship are based on data and common sense, not polling. Our lives and our economy depend upon it. 

    Senator Janet Petersen of Des Moines is the Senate Democratic Leader

  • Boulton: Workers’ compensation should cover coronavirus

    By State Senator Nate Boulton

    More than 100 years ago, Upton Sinclair chronicled the misery and abuse of American workers in the meatpacking industry.

    In The Jungle, he described the packing plants as “centers of contagion, poisoning the lives of all of us.”

    Today, we are witnessing a new chapter in the life and deaths of meatpacking workers and other essential workers through the COVID-19 pandemic. 

    They are called “heroes,” but it’s clear where they rank in this public health crisis. It is painless to say you support them and are proud of those on the front line of public health, the nation’s food supply, or our economy. The hard part: Doing what’s needed when casualties start to mount. And casualties are mounting.

    Too many leaders have shown an alarming willingness to abandon front-line workers the moment words aren’t enough. When outbreaks hit meatpacking plants, the inspectors didn’t rush in. There are still no new workplace safety rules or clarifications of workers’ compensation eligibility for infections.  

    The state took a costly wait-and-see approach. When testing was rolled out, the infection rates were staggering. This week, nearly 60% of the meatpacking workers at one Iowa plant tested positive. That doesn’t include those who couldn’t be tested, meaning more than two-thirds of that workforce is likely infected. Still, the state and federal governments remain on the sidelines when it comes to worker protection, even after the Defense Production Act was used to keep plants open.

    After four years of stripping away workplace rights, it is time to protect those who are now hailed as essential. For our workers and our economy, we need a law and rules presuming COVID-19 infections as qualifying for workers’ compensation and providing a minimum of two weeks of benefits to workers with a positive diagnosis. Those carrying the infection must be removed from their workplace and be supported by benefits for necessary time off—for their own safety and that of their coworkers, families, and communities. Unless another source of infection is proven, no worker who remains on the job should have to fend for themselves on medical care or income when the risks they were asked to take become reality. This should be our first bipartisan priority when the legislative session resumes.

    The state also must back off the dangerous message that refusing to work is simply a “quit” and recognize, with unemployment rules, quits for good cause when employers fail to take reasonable precautions where increased risks of transmission exist. 

    Our essential workers are critical to Iowa’s success. By ensuring they are protected and can take time off when infected, we can reduce the spread of disease and get a step ahead on future outbreaks. Then, after addressing these immediate concerns, we can work on positive policies.

    A government of the people holds a sacred duty and trust to protect the people it serves. If it undermines the wellbeing of its workforce, it has fundamentally failed its purpose. It’s time to repair Iowa’s broken trust with the workers who will strengthen our state’s future.

  • Democratic leaders call for statewide stay-at-home order

    Download pdf of letter, April 2, 2020

  • Iowa Sister States seeks help for China with life-saving aid

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 20, 2020
    CONTACT: Iowa Sister States, Monty Freeman: 515.348.6265 | Monty.Freeman@IowaSisterStates.org

    Des Moines – The Iowa Legislature’s International Relations Committee met to address the deadly spread of coronavirus in Iowa’s sister cities in China. The Legislature is partnering with sister-cities’ local leaders in Dubuque, Davenport, Muscatine, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, along with industry and business across Iowa, to ship relief supplies to communities in China under siege from coronavirus – and they are asking for the help of every Iowan.

    “Friendship is more than a trade partnership; Iowa has a strong tradition of helping our sister-cities and fellow citizens of the world in need. Our friends are asking to help save lives and we are asking Iowans to assist in any way they are able,” said Senator Zach Nunn (R-Bondurant), Chair of the Joint Senate-House International Relations Committee. Legislative efforts are being support by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad.

    “This is a multi-partner approach, across parties and across Iowa to help our long-term friends in China and aim to reduce tensions on a people to people level,” stated Sen. William Dotzler (D-Waterloo) ranking member of the committee.

    High school legislative pages have taken to social media to raise awareness and help Iowa Sister States facilitate donations, to include reaching back to their hometowns to ask for medical masks from local doctors, and safety goggles from construction sites. “Hearing first-hand how a doctor in Iowa’s sister-city attempted to help fight the virus, became infected, and she and her entire family died inspired several of us to get involved and help in every way possible,” said Erica Nasstrom, of Osage High School, Osage. “We’ve set up alerts on social media and are passing along Iowan’s notes of compassion to folks in China to let them know we support them,” commented Kanyon Huntington, of East Union High School, Afton.

    The Health Impact to Iowa’s Sister-Cities

    As of Wednesday, over 75,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus outbreak had taken hold, with the death toll quickly surpassing 2,000 individuals, making it one of the worst outbreaks globally. “The number of confirmed cases in Iowa’s sister-state Hebei province has exploded,” said Dr William Zhang, who briefed legislators. Infections rose quickly this week to 265, with Tangshan, the sister-city of Cedar Rapids having 35 infected; Handan, sister-city of Dubuque having 31; Langfang, the sister-city of Davenport having 29; and Shijiazhuang, sister-city of Des Moines & Muscatine, having 27 cases. The outbreak is expected to continue into the long-term.

    Plea for Assistance

    Iowa Sister States (ISS) is coordinating a relief effort for quarantined citizens in sister-cities with essential donations. “What is critical at this time is medical supplies and sanitary items,” said ISS Executive  Director Monty Freeman.

    Iowa is asking for help and donations for these critical need items:

    1. One-time use protection gowns
    2. Medical masks (n95)
    3. One-time use surgical masks
    4. One-time use medical masks
    5. One-time use medical gloves
    6. Protective eye glasses
    7. Thermometers
    8. Hand-sanitizer
    9. Tissues
    10. Donations for shipping

    The Iowa Sister States’ Hebei Committee is leading a donation campaign. If Iowa businesses, medical facilities or communities have an ability to donate any of the supplies listed, it can be sent c/o Luca Berrone at SACMI USA, 3434 106th Cir., Urbandale, IA 50322. Donations may also be dropped with Iowa Sister States at c/o Monty Freeman at ISS, 1963 Bell Ave, Des Moines, IA 50309.

    Many Iowans are ready to take action and assist the people, families, and friends in China impacted by the large-scale coronavirus outbreak during this difficult time. Donations to  Iowa Sister States will be shipped immediately to Hebei Province.

    Updates can be monitored at Iowa Sister States: https://www.facebook.com/IowaSisterStates/

    Monetary donations are tax-deductible and can be offered at the link on the Iowa Sister States website: https://www.iowasisterstates.org

    ###

  • Healthy Moms and Babies Act will address growing maternal health concerns

    Iowa Senate News Release

    For Immediate Release: Feb. 19, 2020

    DES MOINES – Senate Democrats have proposed legislation to address the growing maternal health crisis in Iowa.

    “Iowa is facing a maternal health crisis that we simply cannot ignore,” says Senator Janet Petersen, the Senate Democratic Leader. “Iowa’s maternal mortality rate has more than doubled in the past three years, hospital labor and delivery departments are shuttering at record speed, and 66 Iowa counties no longer have a single OB/GYN practicing in their county.”

    The scope of the problem includes:

    • Iowa has lost 37 labor and delivery departments.
      MAP OF OB UNITS | LIST OF CLOSURES
    • Iowa has the lowest number of obstetricians per capita in the country. Two-thirds of rural Level 1 hospitals have no obstetrician on staff.
    • Compared to other states, Iowa has a high rate of cesarean births, an indicator of potential health problems for mother and child.

    “Iowa taxpayers pay for more than 40% all births in our state through Medicaid,” Petersen said. “Governor Reynolds has put a system in place that allows out-of-state companies to make a profit off of labor and delivery services while our rural hospitals are financially penalized for providing care. Iowa’s privatized Medicaid doesn’t cover the full cost of delivering babies, which hurts rural and urban hospitals.” 

    The Healthy Moms and Babies Act (SF 2062), co-sponsored by 18 members of the Iowa Senate, will address the maternal health care crisis by:

    • Adjusting Medicaid rates so that hospitals are adequately reimbursed for the care they provide.
    • Ensuring labor and delivery units use proven practices—known as “safety bundles”—that save lives during delivery.
    • Expanding home visiting services for pregnant women, new moms and babies.

    – end –

    Summary of SF 2062: “Healthy Moms and Babies Act”

    Background

    Maternal health in Iowa is experiencing a crisis.

    Maternal death rates are higher in the U.S. than in any other developed nation, and they are rising.  In Iowa, maternal mortality has more than doubled in three years.

    In addition, moms-to-be are now sicker than in the past, with increasing maternal age, higher levels of obesity and related health complications, and societal problems such as substance abuse and mental health, all playing a role.

    To compound these problems, access to care is diminishing and the provider workforce is shrinking. Iowa has seen 37 labor and delivery units in critical access hospitals close since the year 2000, and Iowa has the lowest number of obstetricians per capita in the country, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

    • 64% of rural Level 1 hospitals have no obstetrician on staff
    • Iowa ranks 50th out of 50 in the number of OB/GYNs per capita
    • Iowa has a high rate of cesarean births which can lead to future health problems

    As of October 2019, 37 of Iowa’s 118 community hospitals have closed their birthing units since 2000, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. There were two closures in 2019, down from eight closures in 2018 — the most in a single year. Since then, Mount Pleasant, New Hampton and Muscatine have announced closures.  Most of those closures have happened at smaller facilities. Hospitals are not reimbursed for the cost of the standard of care for labor and delivery so they lose money on every birth.

    About 40% of births in Iowa are Medicaid so making improvements to maternal care in the Medicaid program is key to improving maternal health and birth outcomes in Iowa. Privatized Medicaid doesn’t cover the costs for delivering babies in Iowa when health care providers follow the standard of care.

    Division I:  Medicaid Maternal and Child Health Improvements

    DHS is directed to adopt rules under both fee-for-service and managed care Medicaid, amend any managed care contracts, and apply for any Medicaid plan amendments or waivers necessary to improve care for moms and babies in all the following ways:

    1. Provide reimbursement in an amount that appropriately covers the entire standard of care costs for labor and delivery;
    2. Provide the same reimbursement for maternal-fetal medicine services and comprehensive maternity care when provided in person or via telehealth (covering both facility and professional fees);
    3. Allow continuous Medicaid eligibility for a woman for a 12-month postpartum period (compared to 60 days currently);
    4. Provide comprehensive maternity care which includes the basic number of prenatal and postpartum visits recommended by ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists), any additional prenatal or postpartum visits that are medically necessary, necessary laboratory, nutritional assessment and counseling, health education, personal counseling, managed care, outreach and follow-up services, and treatment of conditions which may complicate pregnancy;
    5. Provide reimbursement for doula care;
    6. Reimbursement for breastfeeding supports, counseling, and supplies including the standard cost of breast pumps and electronic breast pumps;
    7. Reimbursement for transportation to all prenatal and postpartum care appointments; and
    8. Reimbursement for all postpartum care products such as breast pads, period pads, comfort products, pain relievers, and other similar products.

    Division II:  Maternal Best Practices/Safety Bundles and Hospital Requirements

    Licensed hospitals that provide labor and delivery services shall be required to do the following:

    1. Adopt and implement the current best practices or safety bundles recommended by ACOG and the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health; details here https://www.medpagetoday.com/obgyn/pregnancy/74631

    These maternal safety bundles include action measures for:

    • Obstetrical Hemorrhage
    • Severe Hypertension/Preeclampsia
    • Prevention of Venous Thromboembolism
    • Reduction of Low Risk Primary Cesarean Births/Support for Intended Vaginal Birth
    • Reduction of Peripartum Racial Disparities
    • Postpartum care access and standards
    1. Provide information to the public, including but not limited to maternity and neonatal level of care status and the meaning of that status;
    2. Provide cesarean birth statistics;
    3. Provide statistics on the number of vaginal births after cesarean (VBAC) and vaginal births after two cesareans (VBA2C);
    4. Provide rate of exclusive breastfeeding upon discharge;
    5. Provide all moms and babies receiving labor and delivery services with information and assistance in applying for services and health care coverage including but not limited to Medicaid; AEA agencies; WIC; and home visiting programs; prior to discharge from the hospital; and
    6. Have a comprehensive labor and delivery unit closure plan in place that includes a plan for future births and pregnancies and the capacity of other providers to absorb the services in case of unit closure.

    Division III:  Expanded Home Visiting Services

    DHS is directed to seek federal approval for any state plan amendment or waiver necessary in order to collaborate with the Department of Public Health and the Department of Education to expand maternal and infant home visiting services under Medicaid that:

    • promote healthy pregnancies;
    • positive birth outcomes; and
    • healthy infant growth and development.

    The departments shall design a home visiting approach that maximizes coordination and blending of programs and funding, reduces duplication of efforts and ensures that the services provided meet federal evidence-based criteria. Home visiting should start prenatally and include mental health services.

  • Rural Iowa’s Maternal Health Crisis: A Doctor’s Perspective

    By Senate Intern Kylie Spies, University of Iowa MSW student

    Women in Henry County soon will have to travel an hour to Iowa City or Ottumwa to give birth. In labor and delivery, every minute can be critical. Sarah Ledger of Mount Pleasant, a physician with Henry County Health Center, talks with State Sen. Rich Taylor about the consequences of closing obstetrics units in rural Iowa.

    Rural Iowa hospitals are struggling to keep their doors open, and family practice doctors are on the front lines. Dr. Sarah Ledger, D.O., visited the State Capitol to tell legislators about the challenges Iowa families and doctors are facing.

    Dr. Ledger provides prenatal care to southeast Iowa women at Henry County Health Center in Mount Pleasant. HCHC will close the doors to its maternity unit in June, leaving another Iowa community without a safe place to have a baby.

    Henry County Health Center is a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital in the United States. Critical Access Hospitals are small rural hospitals at least 35 miles from another facility. They have 25 beds or fewer, and must offer 24/7 emergency services. In rural Iowa, these hospitals may be a matter of life and death in a crisis.

    Dr. Ledger says that because of the way Medicaid providers pay hospitals for maternity services, they are sometimes forced to close their labor and delivery units to keep the rest of the hospital afloat. It takes a lot of staff and hospital resources to be ready to deliver a baby at any time. If Medicaid payments don’t cover the costs or aren’t made quickly, rural OB units suffer.

    Critical Access Hospitals are supposed to receive higher rates of payment for their services because they are so vital to the community. But profit-driven private Medicaid providers have squeezed hospital budgets so tightly that they can no longer serve Iowans.

    “You abandon OB to keep your hospital open,” says Dr. Ledger. “We’re running into the same thing with our EMS services. We run into the same thing with some of our inpatient care units. You have to cut back on the services that you provide to keep your hospital open. And we’re seeing hospitals that are still closing.”

    Dr. Ledger says women are at higher risk of health problems like high blood pressure and premature births than they were 20 years ago. She sees patients living with violence and hunger, and many without a vehicle for traveling to appointments.

    Good prenatal care is crucial for the health of moms and babies. Regular appointments during pregnancy allow doctors and midwives to monitor patient health, educate moms, and prepare them for labor and newborn care. Without access to prenatal care, Iowa women and their babies face serious health risks.

    “These women come in and we have no idea what the potential complications are going to be. It increases the cost of health care overall because we’re not prepared. We haven’t taught these moms how to take care of their babies. We haven’t taught these moms how to take care of their bodies. You see more complications with that.”

    Women in Henry County soon will have to travel an hour to Iowa City or Ottumwa to give birth. In labor and delivery, every minute can be critical.

    “It is much safer to deliver these babies in a stable OB unit with a trained OB clinician, rather than an ER, in the back of an ambulance, or in a personal vehicle on the side of the road,” says Dr. Ledger.

     The shortage of maternity units in rural Iowa puts moms and babies at risk.

    Iowa ranks 50th out of the 50 states in the number of OB-GYNs per capita. Two-thirds of Iowa counties don’t have a single OB. Combined with the 34 closures of rural Iowa maternity units since 2000, Iowa has a serious care crisis. Dr. Ledger is asking the Legislature to fix Iowa’s Medicaid mess to protect rural hospitals.

    “We need more support with our Critical Access Hospitals. We need more money, unfortunately we need higher reimbursement,” she says.

    “We pay a lot of money to these private MCOs, and we are getting less and less.”

    Sources

    www.acog.org/Clinical-Guidance-and-Publications/Committee-Opinions/Committee-on-Health-Care-for-Underserved-Women/Health-Disparities-in-Rural-Women?IsMobileSet=false

    www.hchc.org/

    www.ruralhealthinfo.org/topics/critical-access-hospitals

    www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=52284a7453eb46b79149c1571d2d5e1b

  • Senate Republicans vote to take away women’s rights

    TRANSCRIPT:

    Ladies and Gentleman of the Senate, on the opening day of the Legislative Session, I said,

    “Iowans shouldn’t have to worry that their human and civil rights are on the line when the Legislature is in session.”

    But here we are…

    Today, Senate Republicans, under the leadership of Senator Schneider and Senator Whitver, are pushing a Constitutional Amendment designed to strip away the freedom of Iowa women, girls and their families.

    President Schneider and Leader Whitver – this debate calendar for today is one for the history books – one you will both be remembered for.

    First, you celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote.

    Then, on the same debate calendar, the only other piece of legislation you put forth is a Constitutional Amendment to strip women and girls of their basic human rights.

    You’ve chosen today to push an extreme agenda with the ultimate goal of an all-out abortion ban in Iowa –with no exceptions granted under any circumstances, instead of focusing on real problems facing young Iowa families in our state.

    Iowa women and girls need MORE access to safe health care close to home, NOT LESS.

    But that doesn’t seem to faze you.

    Never mind that Iowa is facing a maternal health crisis facing our state.

    Never mind that Iowa’s maternal mortality rate has more than doubled in the past three years.

    Never mind that 66 Iowa counties don’t even have a single OB/GYN.

    Livestock in our state has better access to doctors than Iowa women and girls, but I guess that doesn’t matter to you.

    Never mind that Iowans are losing labor & delivery departments and safe places to go for decent reproductive health care at a dangerous and deadly pace.
    ¬
    Iowa families represented by Senator Sinclair have lost three labor & delivery departments in Chariton, Knoxville and Leon.

    The families Senator Miller-Meeks represents have lost three labor & delivery departments in Bloomfield, Keosauqua, and Fairfield.

    Moms-to-be in Senator Rozenboom’s district lost their labor & delivery department in Centerville.

    Young families who are represented by Senator Segebart lost access to three labor & delivery departments in Audubon, Manning, and Sac City.

    Senator Waylon Brown – young families in your district had already lost labor & delivery services in Osage. Now you can add New Hampton to the list of places that won’t serve moms-to-be in your district anymore.

    Moms-to-be represented by Senator Johnson no longer have a labor & delivery department to deliver their babies in Oelwein and Independence.

    Senator Johnson was assigned the Healthy Moms and Babies Act to help address the maternal health crisis facing Iowa. But Senator Johnson hasn’t scheduled a subcommittee on the bill yet.

    Senator Edler: you promised the families in your district more access to health care. But Marshalltown because the Iowa community to lose a Level 2 labor and delivery department.

    Iowa parents-to-be that Senator Costello represents no longer have labor & delivery departments in Clarinda and Hamburg.

    Families Senator Sweeney represents lost labor & delivery departments in Iowa Falls and Eldora.

    Families Senator Whiting represents lost labor & delivery departments in Sibley and Rock Rapids.

    Parents-to-be and families living in Anamosa, Corning, Dyersville, Estherville, Guttenberg, Hampton, Humboldt, Ida Grove, Jefferson, Keokuk, Maquoketa, Washington, Webster City – all lost labor and delivery departments.

    Mount Pleasant is soon to shutter its labor and delivery program. And NONE of these hospitals that closed their labor and delivery departments are required to make sure other communities can take on the additional patient load, or that women have safe transportation to get to distant hospitals.

    So, even if your senate district hasn’t lost a labor and delivery department, your constituents health care is compromised as well. Access to a labor and delivery room matters.

    And the problem is getting worse.

    We know we’re likely to see an additional 10 labor & deliveries close down in the near future. A significant number of OB/gyns and family practitioners are planning to retire soon. And, we are starting to lose family practice residency programs in the state.

    These, my friends are real issues.

    BUT instead of making Iowa a safer place to have a baby, or help women get health care to regulate problematic periods, and address period health care issues that impact their ability to go to school and work, or improving access to family planning services so parents can choose when to have kids, and safely space their pregnancies, or choose not to have kids.

    Instead government is intruding on their lives.

    You have chosen to take away freedoms from Iowans.

    Instead of dealing with real problems that can truly be life or death problems for women and girls in our state, you have chosen to ram your power into women’s bodies once again.

    Wasn’t it enough, when you banned thousands of Iowa women from getting their reproductive health care from Planned Parenthood, Unity Point and the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics…while you still enjoyed your taxpayer funded health insurance that allowed you, your spouses and your kids to access those providers and even get the same services you denied to the women you represent?

    Women are getting tired of you making your political statements with our uteruses.

    It’s time to quit punching women and girls in the uterus with your policies, and pretending it’s for our own good.

    This Constitutional Amendment steals the rights away from Iowa women and girls by taking away our ability to make personal decisions about what is best for our bodies, our future, our families, and our pregnancies.

    I can’t think of a single body part that is regulated more than the UTERUS.

    Not a big toe.

    Not eyes.

    Not even the penis, which is responsible for 99% of all rapes and 100% of all unintended pregnancies in our country, according to facts and science.

    To my Senate Republican colleagues – it is time for you to quit treating Iowa women and girls as second-class citizens whose rights and opportunities are inferior to your own.

    I don’t like to be mansplained on what human rights are.

    This constitutional amendment is written with the sole purpose of banning access to safe abortion care in Iowa.

    Don’t let the misleading language in this amendment confuse you.

    This amendment is not designed to protect women.

    The intent of this constitutional amendment, and the politicians behind it, is to make sure Iowa can ban abortion without exception.

    When you take away access to safe, legal abortion care, and maternal health care, you do not protect women and girls – you put their lives at risk.

    That’s why the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists oppose efforts to ban abortion.

    Iowans – not politicians – should be in charge of our own personal medical decisions.

    Make no mistake about it – this Constitutional Amendment is part of an extreme abortion ban agenda pushed by Republican politicians here in Iowa and across the country – designed to do one thing. End access to safe abortion care, no matter what the cost to the lives of women, girls and families living in our country.

    President Schneider, you chose to use the power of the Senate Presidency to have the Iowa Senate celebrate women’s right to vote today. And then in the very same day, you allowed a debate on an ultra-extreme Constitutional Amendment that strips women and girls of their basic human rights.

    Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think!

    President Schneider, I am glad you don’t have the power to take away women’s RIGHT TO VOTE that our grandmas and great grandmas fought for more than 100 years ago because I know WOMEN intend to use that right.

    I urge a no vote.

  • Mental Health System Under Threat

    Plan by Gov. Reynolds and Farm Bureau jeopardizes Iowa’s mental health system

    By State Sen. Joe Bolkcom, Iowa City (Senate District 43)

    I have been working for the last three weeks to draw attention to Governor Reynolds’ proposal to undermine stable, core funding of our local mental health system.

    I understand that every major business organization will support this deal, but I was shocked this week to learn that NAMI Iowa has endorsed Governor Reynolds’ destructive proposal. Why is NAMI Iowa joining Governor Reynolds and the Iowa Farm Bureau to hurt our mental health care providers and people that need their services? I don’t understand.

    State Sen. Joe Bolkcom is interviewed Feb. 12 on the Governor’s plan to shift the tax burden onto seniors and low-income Iowans, while undermining stable funding for Iowa’s adult mental health system.

    Here are some details about the Governor’s plan.

    While the main thrust of Governor Reynolds’ tax shift proposal is to give another massive tax cut to wealthy Iowans that will drain hundreds of millions from state priorities, she also proposes to do great damage to our mental health system.

    The Governor’s plan is a disaster. It cuts $80 million in stable, predictable local funding from our mental health system, and replaces it with unpredictable and insufficient state appropriations.

    The strength of our adult system is that it was created and is financially supported by local elected officials, families and mental health providers. It is the backbone of our mental health system. The reason it exists today is that it has NOT had to rely on annually begging the Legislature for resources over the past 50 years. It is successful because local elected officials are accountable for making it work.

    More state control of the system will result in less stable funding, less local accountability for results and more broken promises. Why would the Governor, who says she cares about mental health, propose to take away much of its most secure financial support?

    Because the Iowa Farm Bureau told her too. It has been a Farm Bureau priority for 30 years. Why should Farm Bureau members have to pay for mental health services? “What do social services like mental health have to do with farm fields,” they ask.

    I investigated who pays the dedicated county mental health property tax levy that funds our local providers. Implied in Farm Bureau’s complaint is that they are paying more than their fair share for local mental health services. For the record, agricultural property accounts for 18 percent of the total statewide contribution for our local mental health services. Apparently, they want to pay zero.

    So the Governor and the Farm Bureau want to destroy the most reliable source of funding for our mental health system because Farm Bureau does not want to pay their fair share for mental health services. I don’t understand why NAMI Iowa agrees?

    I wish I had more faith in Iowa state government to keep its word. I don’t aim to be mean, but just look at the GOP’s major health care initiatives over the past five years to see how Republican control of our health care has been amazingly ineffective.  

    Everyone but Governor Reynolds and legislative Republicans still agree that privatizing Medicaid has been a costly disaster. Governor Reynolds’ and Republican’s closure of two state mental health facilities (Clarinda and Mt. Pleasant) resulted in premature death for several vulnerable Iowans and significantly reduced much needed mental health beds.

    The GOP gutted Iowa’s successful family planning programs that have led to a documented maternal mortality crisis and dangerous outcomes for pregnant moms and their babies.

    The GOP’s medical cannabis program is the worst, most bureaucratic, unworkable program in the nation.

    And now the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the Reynolds’ Administration for its operation of two state resource centers (Glenwood and Woodward) for our most vulnerable intellectually disabled and mental health patients, following an unusual number of recent deaths and serious violations of federal law.

    More state control over Iowa’s local mental health system will lead to serious decline. Please speak up NOW if you care about maintaining and improving Iowa’s mental health system.