|
Legislators will have fewer bills to work on when they return to work this week. Bills that failed to make it out of committee last week are no longer eligible for debate. As noted above, Ways & Means (tax) and Appropriations (budget) committees are exempt from these deadlines. At this point, the Senate has passed 51 bills out of the chamber, while the House has passed 150 bills.
Funnel Survivors:
-
HF 626 – stopping insurers from switching people to cheaper medications
-
HF 2283 - appropriating $900,000 for an obesity awareness & treatment program
-
HF 2302 - enhancing penalties for health care worker assaults (and adds spitting)
-
HF 2397 – allowing Medicaid reimbursement for ambulance trips to Access Centers
-
HF 2427 - creating an opioid future fund & task force for settlement spending
-
HF 2488 – requiring prior authorization decisions within 48 hours (emergency) or 10 calendar days (non-emergency)
-
HF 2512 - enacting the social worker compact
-
HF 2515 - realigning mental health & social worker licensure requirements
-
HF 2565 - expanding Medicaid coverage to pre-release period in jail/prison
-
HF 2617 – requiring middle and high school students watch fetal development video
-
HF 2634 - removing cap on Housing Trust Fund (increases funding by $3 million)
-
HSB 689 - Governor's recommendations for opioid settlement spending
-
HSB 719 - reduces taxes on casinos by 1%/year for three years.
-
HSB 725 – allowing sale of heated tobacco but does not tax as cigarettes
-
HSB 741 - creating an "easy enrollment health care coverage program" using tax forms
-
SF 2096 - eliminating gender balance on state and local boards & commissions
-
SF 2159/HF 2492 – requiring insurers to cover biomarker testing
-
SF 2251 - expanding postpartum coverage for 12 months (reducing to 215% FPL)
-
SF 2340 - prohibiting state entry/re-entry of previously deported individuals
-
SF 2349 - changing criminal defense subpoena authority
-
SF 2380/HF 2610– adding more restrictions on voting by mail
-
SF 2390 - Senate opioid settlement spending (75% to HHS, 25% to Attorney General)
Funnel Fatalities:
-
HF 243 – ending insurance age limits and benefit caps for autism treatment
-
HF 2210 - prohibiting hospitals from denying privileges because of history of MH/SUD
-
HF 2268 – shortening the time for Medicaid to catch errors and recoup from providers
-
HF 2271 - requiring health providers give parents access to minor electronic health record
-
HF 2321 - adding volunteers, students to health care worker assault law
-
HF 2320 - charging "dreamers" out-of-state tuition at state universities
-
HF 2363 - requiring fathers to pay for birth and pregnancy expenses
-
HF 2389 - defining sex in strict binary terms (Governor's bill)
-
HF 2391 - capping nurse staffing agency wages at 150% average hourly rate
-
HF 2395 - defining respite service for medically challenging pregnancies
-
HF 2396 - prohibiting disciplining of students or staff for misuse of preferred pronouns
-
HF 2456 - requiring prescription accessibility for people who are blind or low-vision
-
HF 2461 - allowing loaded guns on ATVs and snowmobiles
-
HF 2486 – allowing licensed workers to carry forward continuing education credits
-
HF 2491 - requiring new construction include radon mitigation
-
HF 2508 - legalizing public expression of breast milk
-
HF 2523 - requiring parental consent for a minor to access social media platforms
-
HF 2546 - requiring schools teach about social media safety and ban access at school
-
HF 2557 - giving state employees paid parental leave (Governor's bill)
-
HF 2573 – requiring those prescribing medical CBD online to follow Iowa rules
-
HF 2584 - allowing pharmacist ordering of over the counter oral contraceptives
-
HF 2585 - giving state employees paid leave for birth or adoption of child (Governor's bill)
-
HF 2591 - requiring sharing or more information about Lyme's disease when testing
-
HF 2608 – requiring non-citizens prove they are eligible for public assistance
-
HF 2623 - requiring all health providers and insurers to use and pay into IHIN
-
SF 326 - allowing pharmacists to order and dispense epipens
-
SF 2064 - prohibiting minors from consenting to HPV and related vaccines
-
SF 2071 - allowing guns to be bingo prizes
-
SF 2214 – capping insurance copays and cost sharing for insulin at $75/month
-
SF 2263 - requiring trans inmates to be placed according to biological sex
-
SF 2286 – allowing health care providers and insurance to refuse to provide services if it is against their religious or moral views (right of conscience)
-
SF 2323 - giving people with untreatable conditions the "right to try"
-
SF 2360 – requiring all insurance types get patient approval before releasing genetic info.
-
SF 2363 - requiring insurance coverage for ovarian cancer testing and surveillance
-
SF 2369 - requiring blood banks to allow storage of blood for individual use
-
SF 2381 - patient's right to save act (similar to no surprises act)
It is important to note that dead bills could be dropped into a budget bill or amended in whole or part into a similar bill. Where there is a will – there is always a way at the Iowa Capitol. There are three "big bills" that are stirring things up at the Capitol this year. All three made the funnel cutoff and are still live rounds.
-
We are still waiting on the amendment to the bills (SF 2354/HF 2509) that create behavioral health districts to manage funding for local mental health, addiction, and substance use services and move non-Medicaid disability services to a system that includes services to older Iowans. That amendment, which has not yet been finalized, includes many suggested changes from stakeholders.
-
The House and Senate are still miles apart on changes to the delivery and funding of special education services (HF 2612/SF 2386). The Governor and Senate are closely aligned with massive changes to the state's area education agencies (AEAs). The House takes a different approach using a stakeholder task force to make recommendations.
-
The House and Senate are also far apart on eliminating boards and commissions (HF 2574/SF 2385). The House bill gets rid of 49 boards while the Senate is looking at double that number (111). It is unclear at this time whether either side is willing to compromise, so this issue may just be set aside for consideration in 2025.
| 
