Iowa Senate Democrats

Fighting for a Better Deal for Iowans.

  • Senate Dem Leader on Reynolds signing extreme abortion restrictions

    IOWA SENATE NEWS
    May 4, 2018

    “This new law is another dangerous example of politicians dictating health care decisions for Iowa women.

    “In the past two years, Governor Reynolds and other the Republican-controlled Legislature have made our state more dangerous for Iowa women. Instead of improving health care access for women, Governor Reynolds and the Republican-controlled Legislature have pushed through policies that put more women at risk, including:

    • Making it harder for women to prevent pregnancies by gutting Iowa’s highly successful family planning program.
    • Supporting a privatized Medicaid system — which serves nearly half of all pregnant moms — that isn’t paying bills for providers across our state.
    • Prohibiting many of the state’s most highly qualified providers from participating in their GOP Family Planning program while the families of Republican legislators could see whomever they chose under their taxpayer funded health insurance program.
    • Cutting home visits for at-risk newborn babies and their mothers.

    “This new law is extreme because it restricts the  freedom of Iowa women and girls to care for their bodies, and it forces motherhood on Iowa women.

    “This new law is dangerous.

    “This new law is unconstitutional.”

    -end-


    Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen spoke against SF 359, the nation’s most extreme anti-woman law during debate on May 2, 2018.

  • Statement on deferred confirmation vote for DHS Director

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For Immediate Release:  March 7, 2018

    Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen on deferred confirmation vote for DHS Director

    “We made a reasonable request today to delay the confirmation vote on Jerry Foxhoven until we can fully assess his leadership at the Iowa Department of Human Services.

    “First, there’s no need to rush this important decision. The deadline to deal with confirmations isn’t until April 15.

    “Second, there are too many unresolved problems with the privatization of Medicaid services by the Reynolds Administration. This is particularly concerning because Governor Reynolds promised in her Condition of the State address this year that Jerry Foxhoven and other new members of her team would:

    • Resolve issues for caregivers ‘in a timely manner and ensure on-time payments.’
    • Reach patients in ‘new and innovative ways to individualize their care.’
    • ‘Make it right.’

    “There’s no evidence today that she has kept those promises or has a plan for addressing the concerns of Medicaid recipients, health care providers and Iowa taxpayers.

    “In addition, Senate Democrats have concerns related to:

    • Plans to turn the Iowa State Training School for Boys in Eldora into a correctional facility.
    • Foxhoven failing to raise red flags about the impact of mid-year budget cuts on critical services provided by the Department of Human Services.
    • Doubts about the state’s ability to ensure the health and safety of vulnerable Iowa children.”

    -end-

     

  • Senator Petersen’s prepared remarks on SF 2281

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For Immediate Release:  February 28, 2018

     

    Senator Petersen’s prepared remarks on SF 2281,
    extreme abortion restrictions

    I believe every Iowa woman in our state should have the FREEDOM to care for her body without government intervening.

    I believe every Iowa woman should have the FREEDOM to decide if and when she wants to be a parent.

    Unfortunately, that is becoming nearly impossible with Republicans in control of the Iowa Senate.

    It has been a rough two years for Iowa women with Republicans in power.

    Last year, every Republican in the Iowa Senate sponsored and voted for a bill that nearly destroyed Iowa’s Family Planning Network.

    Republicans forced Iowa women to find new health care providers.

    Republicans banned many of the state’s most highly qualified providers from participating in their GOP Family Planning program.

    Republican senators banned Iowa women from seeking medical care from doctors, clinics and hospitals while they continue to go to them or send their own family members to them as part of their health insurance plan that Iowa taxpayer’s cover.

    Republican Senators and staff were found guilty of creating a toxic work environment for former communications director Kirsten Anderson, which resulted in a $1.75 million settlement innocent taxpayers paid.

    On top of that – Republican senators charged taxpayers millions of dollars more for their GOP Family Planning bill that provides less care to fewer women.

    So now, Senate Republicans are back for more – forcing motherhood on Iowa women.

    This bill is dangerous.

    This bill is unconstitutional.

    This bill devalues Iowa women.

    This bill impacts every girl and every woman in our state from the time they get their period to the time they take their last breath.

    This bill puts a 6-week ban on abortion.

    The only exception to this medical ban is if a woman’s life is at stake.

    THE ONLY EXCEPTION IS TO PREVENT DEATH.

    There are no other provisions in IOWA CODE that say an Iowan cannot access medical care UNLESS it is to prevent death –

    Iowans in prison have more medical rights than Iowa women and girls would have under this bill.

    Even a corpse in Iowa would have more rights than women and girls are given under this legislation.

    Even livestock in Iowa have more health care rights than this bill gives to Iowa women and girls.

    It is hard to believe we are even having this debate on a piece of legislation that devalues the bodies and decision-making skills of Iowa women and girls.

    Imagine if we included men in the Republican’s new definition of MEDICAL EMERGENCY, saying the fate of male reproductive organs didn’t matter unless you were dying.

    This bill tells Iowa women and girls that forced pregnancy is more important than their health and well-being.

    This bill puts forced pregnancy ahead of helping women and girls take care of their bodies.

    This bill doesn’t just impact women, it impacts girls.

    There are no age restrictions in this legislation.

    There is no exception for a 9-year-old Iowa girl who is the victim of rape.

    Under the Republican bill – you would force a child rape victim to have a baby no matter how young she is.

    That is unfathomable.

    Senate Republicans refused to take up legislation to give victims of child sexual abuse more time to go after their perpetrators for civil damages – a bill that could have prevented serial perpetrators from raping more children.

    Yet, in this bill Senate Republicans have no problem going after Iowa doctors – by threatening to put them in prison – for terminating a pregnancy if they believe is in the best interest of the child.

    Why do Senate Republicans have it out for Iowa doctors?

    Apparently the only doctors Senate Republicans trust are COMPANY DOCTORS that keep workers from accessing decent workers compensation for injuries on the job.

    Going after doctors who provide women’s health care is shameful.

    What doctor would want to practice in a state that threatens to put them in prison for doing what is in the best interest of her patient????

    This bill is a direct attack on women’s health care across our state.

    If this bill were to become law, our state may lose its only residency program for OB/GYNs at the University of Iowa – a highly successful program where one-third of the OBG residency graduates remain in Iowa to practice.

    Even if it is able to keep its residency program, it will be a logistical nightmare to ensure our future doctors get the training they need to graduate.

    If there are no places to train future doctors in Iowa on how to safely do an abortion procedure – where will the UI send its residents?

    They will have to go out of state.

    That brings extra costs, extra time and extra headaches for residents.

    What will that equate to for our state?

    It will mean fewer OB/GYN students choosing University of Iowa as a place where they would like to attend medical school.

    It will mean fewer OB/GYNs choosing to practice in Iowa.

    Iowa is already ranked next to last in the nation for OBG physicians per capita with 2/3 of Iowa counties not having a single OBG physician.

    (Iowa is only ahead of Arkansas)

    When you lose doctors in rural Iowa, maternal health care outcomes suffer.

    Iowa is already dangerously low in our number of OB/GYNs.

    I don’t think any of us want our state to be known as a place with poor birth outcomes, more high-risk pregnancies and unhealthy births that result in long-term health issues.

    Our state should be the safest place in the country to have a baby – not the most dangerous place to have a baby.

    A study published last September in the journal of Health Affairs found that 1 in 10 rural counties had lost their OB-GYN wards in the past 10 years.

    Iowa women and girls deserve access to the best medical care possible.

    Iowa woman and girls deserve the ability to take care of their bodies without politicians interfering with their decisions.

    We are already seeing dangerous results of the GOP Family Planning bill that is costing taxpayers millions of dollars more – and resulting in less care for women and less access to family planning.

    This bill – which is unconstitutional – will once again charge Iowa taxpayers with a huge bill.  You’ve already charged them more than $3 million with last year’s GOP Family Planning Bill and $1.75 million to cover the costs of the Senate Republican sexual harassment lawsuit.  And now you are at it again with this bill, which will tie up our underfunded and understaffed court system and cost Iowa taxpayers millions of dollars.

    This bill will not make our state a safe place to have a baby.  In fact, it will do the opposite.

    This bill won’t just impact the Iowa women and girls who are forced into motherhood – it will affect all women and girls needing access to OB/GYNs and safe, accessible reproductive health care services in Iowa.

    This bill is dangerous.  This bill is unconstitutional.

    Tell Iowa women and girls that you believe in them.

    Tell Iowa women and girls you care about their ability to take care of their own bodies.

    Tell Iowa women and girls you don’t believe it is right to inject your power into the most private decision-making moments of their lives.

    Please VOTE NO.

    Your political power doesn’t belong inside an Iowa girl’s uterus or the uterus any Iowa woman.

    – end –

  • Democrats denounce secret meeting on Medicaid problems

    News Release
    For Immediate Release: February 21, 2018

     

    DES MOINES — Four key Democratic state legislators today denounced plans by officials with Governor Kim Reynolds’s Administration to have a closed-door meeting to discuss the failed Medicaid privatization experiment.

    The four legislators – Senators Amanda Ragan and Liz Mathis and Representatives Lisa Heddens and Beth Wessel-Kroeschell – were reacting to plans by Iowa Medicaid Director Michael Randol to hold a closed-door meeting with Medicaid providers on Thursday, February 22.

    The stated purpose of the meeting is to identify and discuss payment issues that Iowa health care providers are having with privatized Medicaid.

    Here’s a joint statement from the four Democratic legislators:

    “This meeting should be open to the public because problems with Medicaid affect all Iowa taxpayers, more than 600,000 Medicaid members and healthcare providers across the state.

    “Hundreds of hospitals, nursing homes and other Iowa healthcare providers face financial jeopardy because of Medicaid privatization. This issue affects Iowans in every county.

    “If there’s going to be a bipartisan solution to this problem, more – not fewer – Iowans should be at the table for the discussion.”

     Requests by legislators to attend the meeting have been denied.

    The four legislators also renewed their concerns about a proposal by the Reynolds Administration to eliminate much of the oversight for the privatized Medicaid program.

    Sen. Ragan and Rep. Heddens are ranking members of their respective Health and Human Services Appropriations subcommittees, and Sen. Mathis and Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell are ranking members of their respective Human Resources committees.

    -end-

  • Livestream on Wednesday – More changes to Iowa Medicaid

    At 3 PM tomorrow, Wednesday, February 7, Michael Randol, director of the state’s Iowa Medicaid Enterprise, will answer questions from members of the Senate Human Resources Committee. Director Randol previously was the state Medicaid Director for Kansas.

    If you are able to attend, the meeting will take place in Room 22 of the Iowa Statehouse. Otherwise, you can tune in to our livestream on the Iowa Senate Democrats Facebook page.

     

    MORE CHANGES TO IOWANS’ MEDICAID COVERAGE

    Amerigroup Iowa, one of the two private companies that run Iowa Medicaid, says it will begin accepting new Medicaid members.

    That means the 10,000 members who chose Amerigroup Iowa before November 16, 2017, but were temporarily transitioned to fee-for-service coverage under the state, will be moved to Amerigroup Iowa on March 1. They will receive more information from Amerigroup in the mail.

    New Medicaid members whose coverage begins on or after May 1 can choose Amerigroup Iowa or United Healthcare. They will receive enrollment packets in the mail with details on how to select their Managed Care Organization.

    About one-third of Medicaid members will not be able to change MCOs anytime soon. About 200,000 members assigned to United Healthcare without choice last fall must remain with United until their next annual change period. To switch before then, they must show “good cause,” such as:

    • Their health care provider is not in their MCO network.
    • Necessary services are not available within the MCO network.
    • The MCO has provided poor-quality care.
    • They haven’t been able to get services that are supposed to be covered.

    To request a change for good cause, contact United Healthcare Member Services at 800-464-9484 or Amerigroup Member Services at 800-600-4441. You must go through the MCO grievance process, which can take 30 to 45 days.

    If your grievance is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may call Iowa Medicaid Member Services at 800-338-8366 for additional assistance. The final decision on your MCO assignment will be made by the Iowa Department of Human Services.

    Look for additional information in the coming weeks and months. For the latest updates, go to www.IAHealthLink.gov.

  • Senators introduce bill to end privatized Medicaid

    All 20 Democrats and the one Independent in the Iowa Senate have introduced SF 2058, a bill to end privatized Medicaid and put Iowans back in control of a state-run system that provides affordable health care to more than 560,000 citizens.

    Since April 2016, when Iowa Medicaid was turned over to out-of-state companies, constituents have complained about the obstacles they face getting care and services.

    Hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers – especially in Iowa’s small towns and rural areas – agree that the privatized system is not working. They aren’t being properly reimbursed for the care they provide. They face red tape and bureaucratic nightmares. Many are in financial jeopardy, and some have even been forced to close their doors.

    The state keeps giving private, out-of-state companies more of your tax dollars to run Medicaid. In fact, Governor Reynolds just agreed to give them another $130 million. Yet things continue to get worse.

    This is not how health care for sick, injured and disabled Iowans is supposed to work. Privatized Medicaid is not saving taxpayer dollars. Iowans are not getting healthier. The entire system is in shambles.

    For the health and safety of our citizens, let’s put Iowans back in control of Medicaid.

  • McCoy and Forbes file bill for public health care option

    ­Iowa Legislature News Release
    Tuesday, December 19, 2017

     

    Des Moines, Iowa – State Senator Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, and State Representative John Forbes, D-Urbandale, filed a bill today that will make health care more accessible and affordable for Iowans.  Called the Healthy Iowans for a Public Option (HIPO), the new plan would give the 72,000 Iowans on the individual market another health insurance option.

    “Thousands of Iowans are facing a health care crisis right now because of Medicaid privatization and uncertainty in the health insurance market. It’s time for the Legislature to work together and make sure that all Iowans have access to affordable health care.  Our plan will give the 72,000 Iowans in the individual market another option while repealing the GOP’s disastrous Medicaid privatization,” said Sen. McCoy.

    The HIPO plan would first roll back Iowa’s Medicaid privatization and then create a new public health insurance option for Iowans to purchase on the individual marketplace. Iowans who currently receive financial assistance on the marketplace would still be eligible to receive it.

    “Iowans deserve solutions to the health care crisis they face, not excuses and blame from politicians who won’t take action. We know the high cost of health care is draining family incomes and threatening the retirement security of too many Iowans.  Since politicians in DC keep making our health care system worse, it’s time for Gov. Reynolds and Republican lawmakers to work with us and make health care both accessible and affordable,” said Rep. Forbes.

    President Trump is expected to sign a bill later this month that will leave millions of Americans without health insurance and add more uncertainty to Iowa’s health care marketplace. Next year, just one option will be available on Iowa’s health insurance Marketplace.  Medica is proposing raising premiums 57% compared to its current rates, making this option unaffordable for thousands of Iowans.

     

    ###

  • New Iowa health care disaster approaches: End of hawk-i

    State of Iowa facing millions more in costs while kicking 44,000 children off health insurance

    DES MOINES  –  Iowa’s outstanding health insurance for children is at risk due to the Congressional failure to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Without federal action, the state of Iowa faces millions more in costs even though 44,000 fewer children would be insured.

    State Senator Nate Boulton of Des Moines, a board member for Iowa’s nationally praised hawk-i children’s health insurance program, called for “swift, firm, united action” after the organization’s Monday board meeting.

    “This crisis affects families in every county of this state. This is an ‘all hands on deck’ moment for Iowa’s elected leaders,” said Boulton. “In January, the Legislature should immediately approve a resolution officially requesting that Congress reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Then, we should all be urging Governor Reynolds to travel to D.C. to make that case to the House, the Senate, and President Trump.”

    On September 30th, Congress failed to reauthorize CHIP for the first time in the nearly 30 years of the program’s existence.

    There are two components to hawk-i, Iowa’s version of CHIP.  One covers the 16,000 Iowa kids enrolled in Medicaid expansion. They are the lucky ones in that they will continue to have health insurance for at least the next two years.  However, without a federal reauthorization of CHIP funding, Iowa’s state budget will be required to cover the shortfall. That will mean additional costs of $10 to $15 million per year to Iowa’s already troubled state budget.

    Things are much worse for the 44,000 Iowa children enrolled in Iowa’s nationally-recognized hawk-i program. Those children will lose their health insurance completely when funding runs out, something that is expected to happen this February.

    “We need swift, firm, united action to prevent a children’s health care crisis in Iowa,” Boulton said. “It’s this simple: If CHIP isn’t reauthorized, 44,000 fewer children in our state will have access to the high quality health care hawk-i provides.”

    -30-

  • Democrats call on Statehouse Republicans to ‘put Iowans back in control of Medicaid’

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For Immediate Release: December 15, 2017

     

    DES MOINES — Iowa’s Democratic state legislators are asking Governor Kim Reynolds and Republican lawmakers to work together during the 2018 session to end Iowa’s failed Medicaid privatization experiment.

    “We do our best work when we work in a bipartisan fashion” to expand access to affordable health care for many Iowans, Democratic legislators wrote in a letter emailed today to the Governor and every Republican lawmaker.

    “For the past 20 months, constituents of all ages have been bombarding Governor Reynolds and Republican and Democratic legislators with real problems caused by Medicaid privatization,” Democrats wrote. “There is clear evidence that Iowans have died as a result of life-sustaining services being cut off to extremely vulnerable individuals.”

    The letter also stresses the “financial jeopardy” that Medicaid privatization has imposed on hospitals, nursing homes and other Iowa health care providers, especially in Iowa’s small towns and rural areas.

    Democratic lawmakers noted that “privatization is not saving money for Iowa’s taxpayers, and it is not resulting in healthier Iowans. Under Medicaid privatization, the state of Iowa keeps giving the private, out-of-state companies more and more money, while giving Iowa taxpayers less and less.”

    Medicaid is a health care safety net that is administered by the states and funded through a federal-state partnership. Roughly 70 percent of Medicaid expenses are for the care of our very poor elderly and severely disabled Iowans. In 2015, the Branstad/Reynolds Administration announced that the state employees running the program would be replaced by for-profit Medicaid managers.

    Despite widespread opposition and repeated delays, large, out-of-state companies took over care of the majority of Iowans receiving Medicaid services on April 1, 2016. As of today, three of the four companies initially hired to manage the program have abandoned the project. When AmeriHealth Caritas quit the state last month, the health care of 215,000 Iowans was disrupted.

    Governor Reynolds has promised that more managed care organizations are being recruited to replace those that left.

    In today’s letter, Democratic lawmakers propose a different approach: “When Connecticut realized its privatized Medicaid was not working, state leaders made the decision to go back to a publicly managed Medicaid system. Connecticut is now seeing much better results with their new model. They are saving money and improving care.”

    The letter concludes with this plea:

    “More than ever before, we all know that privatized Medicaid is not working for Iowa. For the health and safety of so many, will you work with us to put Iowans back in control of Medicaid? We can and should do better for Iowans. Watching our health care system collapse is not an option.”

     

    -end-

  • Senators call on Gov. Reynolds to extend sign-up period for Medicaid

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For Immediate Release: November 29, 2017

     

    DES MOINES – Citing continuing turmoil for Iowa’s Medicaid recipients, two key State Senators today called on Governor Kim Reynolds to give a break to more than 200,000 Medicaid recipients who were denied a choice of Medicaid providers.

    In a letter delivered this afternoon, Sen. Amanda Ragan of Mason City and Sen. Liz Mathis of Hiawatha called on the Governor to grant an additional 30 days for former AmeriHealth members to choose either UnitedHealthcare or the fee-for-service system. A 30-day extension would address the concerns of Iowans who did not have a choice of managed care organizations, which directly affects which doctors, hospitals and other health care providers they can see.

    “We are writing to you today to express our grave concerns about Medicaid,” the Senators wrote in their letter. “The loss of AmeriHealth Caritas and the inability of Amerigroup to take new members leaves too many Iowans without choice.”

    The Senators also point out that federal law requires Medicaid beneficiaries get a choice of managed care plans.

    “It is a fundamental, legal requirement to offer Medicaid beneficiaries a choice of managed care plans. It is completely unfair to offer the fee-for-service system to only those members that were able to make a choice before November 16,” the Senators stated. “Due to the lack of timely notice, more than 200,000 Iowans are being assigned to United Healthcare, regardless of their preference.

    “In the name of fairness and choice, we are requesting that you grant an additional 30 days for former AmeriHealth members to choose either UnitedHealthcare or the fee-for-service system.”

    Senator Ragan is Ranking Member of the Health & Human Services Budget. Senator Mathis is Ranking Member on the Human Resources Committee.

    -end-