Iowa Senate Democrats

Fighting for a Better Deal for Iowans.

  • 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.

  • Ragan & Steckman to hold Mason City listening post

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For Immediate Release: January 16, 2018

     

    State Senator Amanda Ragan and State Representative Sharon Steckman will hold a legislative listening post this Saturday, January 20. The meeting will take place from 10 AM to 11:30 AM at the Mason City Public Library, 225 2nd St. SE, Mason City.

    The event is free and all are welcome to attend.

    The legislators will provide an update on the 2018 legislative session. Constituents will have the opportunity to ask questions, and share concerns and ideas on issues under consideration at the Statehouse.

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  • 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-

  • Ragan invites public to share ideas and concerns about Iowa jobs

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For Immediate Release: October 23, 2017

     

    State Senator Amanda Ragan and State Representative Sharon Steckman are organizing a town hall meeting on jobs at the Mason City Public Library in the Elizabeth Muse Norris Classroom.  The event will begin at 5 PM and conclude at 6 PM on Monday, November 20th.

    “North Iowa has opportunities for real growth,” said Senator Ragan. “To bring higher wage jobs to our communities, we need should focus on small business development, entrepreneurship, and educational opportunity.”

    “The Legislature has to invest more in long-range economic development, measures that ensure future growth and prosperity across all of Iowa,” said Steckman. “At the Mason City Library meeting, we will be listening for ideas that will help create jobs and grow our local economy.”

    The legislators encouraged people to bring their suggestions.

    “This is a discussion and I hope people will arrive with some ideas of their own,” said Ragan. “The best ideas often appear when we get together and listen to each other.”

    Senator Ragan can be reached at home by calling (641) 424-0874 or by emailing Amanda.Ragan@legis.iowa.gov.

    Representative Steckman can be reached by calling (641) 583-2484 or by emailing sharon.steckman@legis.iowa.gov.

    Senator Ragan will hold similar public meetings about jobs and economic development in Greene and Hampton. The dates and locations are:

    • Monday, Nov 13, 5 PM to 6 PM in the Meeting Room, Greene Public Library, 231 W Traer Street, Greene
    • Wednesday, Nov. 15, 5 PM to 6 PM at Center 1, Greater Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, 5 1st Street SW, Hampton

     

    -End-

  • Governor should urge Ernst, Grassley to oppose health care harmful changes

    July 18, 2017

    The top two Democratic State Senators on the Iowa Senate’s healthcare budget and policy committees are urging Governor Kim Reynolds to contact U.S. Senators Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley about the threat that healthcare legislation pending in the U.S. Senate poses to Iowa families, health care providers and rural communities.

    The joint letter notes that Iowa Democrats and Republicans worked together in 2011 to “expand Medicaid to cover 150,000 working Iowans who did not earn enough to purchase insurance on the open market.”

    The successful Iowa Medicaid expansion has improved healthcare for thousands of Iowans, reduced costly charity care at rural and urban hospitals, and saved Iowa health care jobs.

    The State Senators warned Reynolds that the proposal currently being debated in the U.S. Senate would devastate Iowa’s success.  They wrote:

    “The cost of unpaid charity care in Iowa could again reach the billion-dollar-a-year level it had reached before the Medicaid expansion.  This would increase the price of health insurance generally and be especially harmful to hospitals and health care providers in Iowa’s rural communities.  If Medicaid is cut significantly, rural health care providers could be forced to close.  That would have a devastating effect on patient access to health care and would be a major blow to the continued viability of Iowa’s small towns.

    “In addition, some 72,000 Iowans on the individual market may soon be unable to buy health insurance at any price. You’ve stated that your administration is working on a stop-gap proposal to fix this problem for 2018.  We want to remind you of the urgent need to resolve this issue as soon as possible.  Iowa’s U.S. Senators must work with the Trump Administration to immediately eliminate the health care insecurity haunting these Iowa families.”

    In the letter, Senators Ragan and Mathis also urged the Governor  to “stand up for Iowa the way other Republican and Democratic Governors have stood up for their states.”  As examples, the senators cited statements by the Republican Governors of Nevada, Ohio, and Vermont that are critical of the proposal before the U.S. Senate.

    The senators ended their letter by stating:

    “Governor Reynolds, we urge you to speak up in defense of Iowa families, Iowa health care providers, Iowa jobs, and the state budget.  Specifically, we urge you to contact Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst as soon as possible.  Encourage them to speak out publicly against health care changes that would devastate Iowans and the Iowa economy.”

     

    Text of the letter is below

    July 18, 2017

    Dear Governor Reynolds,

    We write to urge you to join other Republican and Democratic Governors in speaking out against the healthcare bill currently being debated in the US Senate.

    In 2011, with bipartisan support and the participation of Governor Branstad and yourself, the Iowa Legislature voted to expand Medicaid to cover 150,000 working Iowans who did not earn enough to purchase insurance on the open market.

    Iowa’s Medicaid expansion improved the health of working Iowans, reduced the cost of charity care at Iowa’s hospitals, and increased the number of health care jobs across Iowa.   The state of Iowa will pay no more than 10 percent of the overall cost.  The benefits to Iowans are obvious and continue even though Medicaid has been privatized.

    Governor Reynolds, we know you are certainly aware that the United States Senate is debating legislation that would negatively affect Medicaid expansion.  The cost of unpaid charity care in Iowa could again reach the billion-dollar-a-year level it had reached before the Medicaid expansion.  This would increase the price of health insurance generally and be especially harmful to hospitals and health care providers in Iowa’s rural communities.  If Medicaid is cut significantly, rural health care providers could be forced to close.  That would have a devastating effect on patient access to health care and would be a major blow to the continued viability of Iowa’s small towns.

    In addition, some 72,000 Iowans on the individual market may soon be unable to buy health insurance at any price. You’ve stated that your administration is working on a stop-gap proposal to fix this problem for 2018.  We want to remind you of the urgent need to resolve this issue as soon as possible.  Iowa’s U.S. Senators must work with the Trump Administration to immediately eliminate the health care insecurity haunting these Iowa families.

    That’s why we ask you to stand up for Iowa the way other Republican and Democratic Governors have stood up for their states. Here are a few examples:

    Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval has said Medicaid expansion has been “a winner for the people of our state.”

    Ohio Governor John Kasich has said that he has “deep concerns with the details of the U.S. Senate’s plan to fix America’s health care system and the resources needed to help our most vulnerable.”

    Vermont Governor Phil Scott said this about the Republican Senate changes to Medicaid: “Even a small tweak could have a devastating impact on us as a state.”

    Governor Reynolds, we urge you to speak up in defense of Iowa families, Iowa health care providers, Iowa jobs, and the state budget.  Specifically, we urge you to contact Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst as soon as possible.  Encourage them to speak out publicly against health care changes that would devastate Iowans and the Iowa economy.

    Sincerely,

    Senator Amanda Ragan of Mason City
    Ranking Member, Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee

    Senator Liz Mathis of Robins
    Ranking Member, Human Resources Committee

    -30-

     

  • Senators respond to DHS Director Palmer retirement

    Senators Liz Mathis and Amanda Ragan at a Medicaid Oversight Committee Meeting.

    Senator Amanda Ragan of Mason City, ranking member of the Health and Human Services Budget Committee:

    “I wish retiring Director Palmer well. He’s done his best under difficult circumstances.

    “However, the real problems of a disastrous budget, less staff, higher caseloads, and lack of oversight need to be addressed.  The rollout, implementation, and proven problems with Medicaid privatization can no longer be overlooked.  We need an open, honest assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of DHS and what it needs to succeed, including funding and staffing levels.”

     

    Senator Liz Mathis of Robins, ranking member of the Senate Human Services Committee:

    “With Director Palmer’s retirement comes the opportunity to address some of the problematic issues around casework and managed care. I hope Governor Reynolds will consider someone who is willing to work with both sides of the aisle to accomplish more accessibility to critical services like mental health.

    “I have worked with Director Palmer in a number of ways, from strategic planning on children’s mental health to Medicaid and managed care.  He had a difficult job but Director Palmer was professional and accessible to me as a legislator. I wish him well.”

    -end-

  • Mathis, Ragan respond to Branstad/Reynolds release on Medicaid privatization

    “Everything the Governor lists can be refuted by patients, providers and advocates. Don’t believe this blather,” said Senator Liz Mathis of Robins. “We still have big issues with pre-authorization, physicians dropping hundreds of Medicaid patients and millions of dollars of claims left unpaid to providers. That is far from a successful year.”

    “The willingness of Governor Branstad and Lt. Governor Reynolds to continue to mislead Iowans about their Medicaid privatization disaster is stunning,” said Senator Amanda Ragan of Mason City. “Now it’s up to Lt. Gov. Reynolds to be honest with Iowans and start repairing the damage privatized Medicaid has brought to Iowa families, health care providers and taxpayers.”

    -end-

  • SF213 – Prepared remarks by Sen. Amanda Ragan of Mason City

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For immediate release: February 14, 2017

    When I first read the bill before us — which rewrites Chapter 20 of the Iowa Code — I was dismayed by what I saw.  That emotion is still with me and will be for a long time.

    There is a valued injunction which definitely applies here:  “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

    Chapter 20 is NOT broken.

    For 43 years, it has artfully guided public employee relations throughout our state.  City, county, and state management leaders and their workers were able to bargain honorably.

    More important, the public was well-served by the decisions which insured public employees and government officials were treated with respect.  Additionally, the jobs, many of which are hazardous, were done professionally by dedicated workers.

    The bill before us today is a disaster.

    It shreds the protections afforded to workers and to management.  The bill is a statement that devalues public employees, and devalues the work they perform for all our citizens.

    I must concede those who authored this bill knew what they were doing.

    They knew who it would negatively impact.

    They knew how it would make service as a public employee in Iowa harder and more difficult.

    They knew they were denigrating lives and work ethics across the state, and, stunningly, they seem not to care.

    What they didn’t know — or care to know — was the importance of the jobs they were impacting, or the people, their constituents, who do those jobs.  This legislation was written, and will be enacted, by people who know nothing of the lives they are throwing into chaos.

    I will ask any advocate for this bill – – Do you have any knowledge of the people you are marginalizing and dishonoring with this bill?  Do you know them?  Have you talked to them?  Are they not neighbors of yours? And have you read their emails to you?

    They tell the story of families who have invested in their jobs, their families and their communities.

    I would like to know how you plan to convince your local public servants this is being done for their own good.  We hear over and over about jobs.  People want good jobs, high-skilled jobs, well-paying jobs.  This bill destroys that dream for 185,000 hard-working Iowans.

    Let us at least be up front – – this bill has nothing to do with making working conditions better for public employees.

    This bill has nothing to do with preserving the quality of services we enjoy.

    This bill has nothing to do with preserving a pathway to the middle class for others.

    This bill has everything to do with hurting and disrespecting people you don’t like or care to deal with – – Iowa public employees!

    Please at least be honest about the intentions of this bill.  It is designed to cut and gut.  This bill does not help people; it hurts people.  It makes a mockery of the phrase that “Iowa is a great place to live, work, and raise a family.”

    In the spirit of strong Iowa values, I strongly urge a NO vote for this bill.

    -end-

  • Tax break for farmers, small businesses, teachers & families

    Senate Democrats have introduced legislation to help Iowa taxpayers by “coupling” Iowa’s tax code with recent federal changes for 2016, the taxes Iowans must pay this April. Thousands of Iowans want to use these provisions, which have been available to them in previous years, to lower their state taxes.

    Senate File 428 will benefit nearly 24,000 farmers and small business owners by allowing them to take advantage of a provision called Section 179 expensing. Federal law allows these taxpayers to take a larger deduction on equipment they have purchased as an investment in their operations. If Iowa “couples” with the federal tax code, these folks also get to take a similar deduction on their state tax returns.

    The Republican chair of the Senate’s tax-writing committee says he does not intend to support the legislation this year, but I am not giving up. Thousands of Iowans want to use these provisions, which have been available to them in previous years, to lower their state taxes.

    Last year, tax coupling legislation helped:

    • More than 39,000 Iowa teachers who purchase supplies for their classrooms with their own money.
    • More than 43,000 Iowans who own their homes, by allowing them to deduct mortgage insurance premiums from their state taxes.
    • More than 18,000 Iowans who are going to college or getting training to improve their skills and better their lives.
    • More than 45,000 working Iowans who are married with three or more children, by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit.