This Week @ The Iowa Capitol

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The Iowa Legislature passed the Governor's school choice plan (House File 68) on Monday, and Governor Kim Reynolds signed it into law the next morning in front of a crowd of private school children and parents.

All Democrats, nine House Republicans, and three Senate Republicans voted against the bill. The bill uses state funds to pay for private school scholarships. By the fourth year, legislators estimate it could be used by 40,000 students and cost the state nearly $350 million each year. Students would receive about $7,600/year (depending on what the state sets for school funding each year).

The program phases in over three years:

School Year 2023-2024: Family of four earning up to $90,000/year (300% of the federal poverty level).

School Year 2024-2025: Family of four earning up to $120,000/year (400% of the federal poverty level).

School Year 2024-2025: Available to any student regardless of family income.

Legislators on all sides of this issue promised to talk about funding for special education; several legislators raised concern about the ability of schools to support students needing special education.

The Governor has set up a website to help Iowans learn more about private school Education Savings Accounts.

Key Take Aways

The Governor's school choice bill passed the Senate (31-18) and House (55-45) on Monday. The Governor signed it into law on Tuesday.

Next school year, Iowa students can get state money to pay for private school.

Some people are worried this could hurt special education services in public schools.

Legislators promised to talk more about special education funding when they begin their budget work.

The Governor has a new website for people who want to know more about this.

Education Savings Account Website

How Did Your Legislator Vote?

There were 12 Republicans who voted with Democrats against the school choice bill. See how your legislators voted: Senate Vote, House Vote.

KEY

TAKE AWAYS

House File 16 helps students with intellectual disabilities pay for college programs like the University of Iowa's REACH and Northwestern College's NEXT.

House File 74 gives individuals with intellectual disabilities more money to modify their homes and cars/vans.

Both bills come from Rep. Chad Ingels and both bills came out of subcommittee this week!

This is the first step in becoming law. Now they must pass out of committee.

Tell your legislators why these bills are important to you.

More Bills Advance from Subcommittee

Everyone knows college can be expensive. For students with intellectual and other cognitive disabilities at the University of Iowa's REACH program or Northwestern College's NEXT program, it's a real issue. These programs does not qualify for college student aid, and the tuition is more than $20,000/year at the University of Iowa and about $11,000/year at Northwestern (not including room and board).

Rep. Chad Ingels (R-Randalia) knows this better than anyone; his daughter graduated from the program. That's why he introduced House File 16, which helps pay for these programs. This week, a subcommittee passed the bill out (3-0). The next step is passing out of the House Education Committee (we hope it's on the agenda for this week).

There is currently no funding in the bill, but Rep. Ingels hopes the legislators making recommendations on the Education Budget will include some money to get the program started.

Another subcommittee chaired by Rep. Barb Kniff McCulla (R-Pella) approved a bill that will eliminate the lifetime cap for vehicle and home modifications in the Medicaid HCBS Intellectual Disabilities (ID) Waiver. The bill (House File 74) replaces that lifetime cap with an annual cap.

The ID Waiver will only pay for up to $5,727.37 in home and vehicle modifications over the person's lifetime.

Under this bill, the ID Waiver would pay for up to $6,872.85 per year. This is what is currently allowed for the Brain Injury (BI) waiver.

The House Health & Human Services Committee will need to approve this bill before March 3 to keep it moving. Rep. Ingels definitely deserve a special shout-out; he's also the sponsor of House File 74!

EMAIL YOUR LEGISLATORS

People testifying at a subcommittee meeting, sitting around a large wooden table with microphones in front of them, in an ornate gold and green historic room.

Legislators Hear Concerns About "Public Assistance" Bill

Iowans attended a subcommittee meeting at the State Capitol on Thursday to express concern about additional hurdles House File 3 would put in place for Iowans relying upon Medicaid, food assistance, and other forms of "public assistance."

The bill is a priority of a national organization that thinks there is a lot of abuse and fraud in public assistance programs. They want to add a lot of extra checks on a family's assets and eligibility. Some concerns expressed:

Food assistance (SNAP) would no longer pay for sugar soda or candy.

People with a second car may no longer qualify for some public assistance, since that car will now count as an "asset." Two working people may need that extra car to stay employed.

People receiving food assistance would have to work - no exceptions are allowed.

People on the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan would have to work, volunteer, or be in school 20 hours/week. People caring for a child under one, a child with a disability, or determined to be "physically or mentally unfit to work" do not have to meet this requirement. Someone who is caring full-time for an adult with a disability or serious medical condition (like cancer or Alzheimer's disease) would still have to meet this 20-hour requirement. Also, "unfit" is a pretty terrible word to use.

The bill requires the state to pay for all of this, even though the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) already uses a similar system for free through the federal government.

Nearly everyone speaking said they did support one part of the bill: an additional $1 million for the Double Up Food Bucks, a Healthiest State initiative that doubles the value of a SNAP dollar when buying fresh fruits and vegetables.

The subcommittee only met for 30 minutes, so many people were not able to speak. The subcommittee chair, Rep. Tom Jeneary (R-LeMars) did encourage people to send him comments. He said that there will be an amendment when the bill gets to committee.

KEY

TAKE AWAYS

House File 3 puts new requirements on people who get help from the state (food assistance, Medicaid, family support).

Lots of people asked the House File 3 subcommittee to stop this bill, but they went ahead and passed it.

Some Medicaid members will have to work or volunteer to keep their benefits (those on the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan).

There are some reasons why you would not have to work, but they are missing some important ones (like caring full-time for a family member with a disability).

The "assets" of every person living in the house would count toward limits, including students or live-in caregivers.

There is a $1 million increase for a program that helps people buy fresh fruits and vegetables, including at local farmer's markets.

You can contact the subcommittee members about your concerns:

Rep. Tom Jeneary

Rep. Ann Meyer

Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell

You can also contact the other members of the House Health & Human Services Committee here.

Medicaid "Unwinding" Begins Soon

Medicaid was not allowed to stop covering Iowans during the COVID-19 public health emergency, even if they were no longer eligible to receive the services. The Federal government is now allowing states to begin taking people off Medicaid beginning April 1, 2023.

They call this "unwinding," but it will not all happen at once. The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) will begin this process by first working with the people who have failed eligibility tests sometime in the last year. They will begin contacting them soon.

Many Iowans will receive letters saying not to worry, their Medicaid will continue. Others may need to work with Medicaid to make sure their coverage continues.

It's important you watch your mail for Medicaid letters, and make sure you respond when asked. You can find out more on the department's "Unwind" website here.

This week's SHOUT OUT

Two advocates with disabilities came to the Capitol to speak against House File 3.

This was not a public hearing, it was a subcommittee meeting. Their comments helped explained why this bill is scary to many people who rely on Medicaid, family support, and food assistance to make ends meet each month.

Leslie Carpenter, a parent who lobbies on behalf of her son and others with brain illness, also talked about the very real problems the bill will cause for people like her son.

This week's Shout Out to them - and the many others who submitted comments or came to the Capitol to speak on the bill.

Read comments people have made on this bill.

New Bills from Week Three

You will be hearing more about "tort reform" this week. When someone harms you because they did something wrong or were careless, they have committed a "tort." Tort law allows victims to sue for the damage caused. They can get be compensated for both economic damages (doctor's bills, loss of wages) and non-economic damages (pain and suffering).

Health care providers have been complaining that their medical malpractice insurance is becoming unaffordable, mainly because of big jury awards for non-economic damages. They say specialists like doctors that deliver babies (OB/GYNs) do not want to stay in Iowa because the state does not put a limit on these non-economic damages.

House File 102 and Senate File 148 limit non-economic damages caused by a health care professional (medical errors) at $250,000, or $1 million if the injury results in death or permanent loss of bodily function. The House Health & Human Services Committee plans to vote on its bill today (Monday); the Senate plans to debate their bill sometime this week. This bill may be law by the end of the week.

There is another set of bills were introduced this week and flew through subcommittee. House Study Bill 76 and Senate Study Bill 1078 define the term "Brain Health" and states that the Legislature believes to reduce stigma, "brain health" can be used to mean mental illness, mental health, and behavioral health. No one really opposes this change. Some people are worried this may cause confusion since brain health is much broader and includes dementias, brain injuries from stroke, and other things not typically considered "mental illness." Both bills are ready for Health & Human Services Committee votes in the House and Senate.

Remember you can keep track of these and other bills of interest in the Bill Tracker. Bills are added daily (and the status is automatically updated as bills move through the legislative process).

Watch the January Capitol Chat

You can watch our January 27 Capitol Chat here.

You can also sign up for our upcoming Chats:

Feb. 24, Mar. 31, Apr. 28

Go to Calendar

Iowa legislators still take time out of their weekends home to go to public forums or town halls. It's their time to meet the people they represent, share what they are doing at the State Capitol, and hear what people think that work.

You can find these on our calendar, and you can download the list for the next two weeks here.

Advocate Resources

Bill Tracker

Action Center

Calendar & Legislative Town Halls

Guide to the Iowa Legislature

Advocacy Toolkit

infoNET is a disability policy newsletter of the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council and its network of Iowans with Disabilities in Action.

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This project is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $774,176 with 100 percent funding by ACL/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.