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Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Iowa House lawmakers send state Medicaid work requirements governor's desk
DES MOINES, Iowa — After the Iowa Senate amended a bill which requires 80 hours of work for those in order to be able to receive state Medicaid expansion; the Iowa House approved that amendment and sent to the bill to Governor Reynolds' desk. The bill was passed in a vote down party lines on Wednesday afternoon. House Democrats were frustrated at the amendment striking out a study on a work program for disabled workers, calling it the only good part of the bill. 'Then the only thing left to do is to gamble with the lives of over 180,000 Iowans who would lose their health insurance. 180,000 Iowans have the possibility of losing their health insurance. That's the gamble. But gambling with the lives of Iowans who make less than $17,000 dollars a year and vote no on this bill,' State Representative Beth Wessel-Kroeschell (D), District 49 from Ames. Des Moines finishing project to eliminate combined sewage 'And lastly, the last reason I think we should do this is because, frankly for me and I know a lot of us others here are feeling the same way,' said State Representative Josh Turek (D), District 20 from Council Bluffs. 'I'm tired of the Senate treating us like children. We are all duly elected officials in this building. We are the largest independent governing body here. And I think that we should send this back to them and let them choke on it.' The bill sponsor, Rep. Carter Nordman said that the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services plans to conduct the study without the directive to conduct that study. 'While I would prefer this study remain in code, I have had extensive conversations with Director Garcia and have received her full commitment to conducting the study without a directive,' said State Representative Carter Nordman (R) District 47 from Adel. The bill is now eligible to be signed into law by Governor Reynolds, who last month requested a federal waiver to have 100 hours of work required for those able on state Medicaid. There is a list of those exempted from the ages 19 to 65-years-old in the legislation. Iowa News: Iowa House lawmakers send state Medicaid work requirements governor's desk Ames outdoor gear store permanently closing after 70 years in business Forecast: Rain for some, then cooler temps With Trump's plans for America's 250th in mind, Iowa lawmakers don't want cities to limit fireworks 2 injured in multi-vehicle crash involving Pella school bus Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Iowa House passes Medicaid work requirements, bill sent to governor's desk
DES MOINES, Iowa – Members of the House Republican caucus moved quickly to pass work requirements to Iowans receiving healthcare benefits through the Iowa Health and Wellness plan. Several amendments were filed for the House version, the only one approved merged the bill to the version the Iowa Senate passed on Tuesday. The bill requires 80 hours of work, minimum, every month to continue to receive healthcare benefits. Iowa House Republicans passed the legislation by a vote of 61 to 35. 'Iowans support work requirements for able-bodied adults, which should be a decision made by the state and its elected officials. This bill ensures that the state of Iowa … can continue work requirements for Medicaid expansion, no matter what political party controls the federal administration,' said State Representative Carter Nordman (R), District 47 from Adel. Grieving families thanked for advocacy on 'hands-free' driving law; bill sent to governor's desk House Democrats warned about the trigger language in the bill, stating that if work requirements are ever attempted to be removed, the Iowa Health and Wellness plan would be shut down by the state department of health and human services. 'Look at the private equity groups buying up things like dialysis centers and ramping up prices with collusion,' said State Representative Adam Zabner (D), District 90 from Iowa City. The independent Legislative Service Agency estimated in the fiscal note that 32,000 people would lose healthcare coverage in the state if the bill is signed into law. There are exemptions for individuals listed in the bill that will waive the work requirements for those on the benefits. The bill is now eligible to be signed into law by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, with the bill taking effect on enactment. Iowa News: Mark Gronowski making strong opening impression with Hawkeyes New season begins for Iowa farmers Iowa House passes Medicaid work requirements, bill sent to governor's desk Grieving families thanked for advocacy on 'hands-free' driving law; bill sent to governor's desk Pharmacist-Lawmaker pushes for PBM reform bill amid rising pharmacy closures Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
House sends expanded Medicaid work requirements bill back to Senate
Rep. Carter Nordman, R-Adel, spoke in support of enacting work requirements for Iowa's expanded Medicaid program during floor debate March 26, 2025. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch) The Iowa House sent the bill imposing work requirements on recipients of Iowa's expanded Medicaid program back to the Senate Wednesday. Senate File 615 was approved by the House 61-35 with some changes. The bill, which passed in the Senate Tuesday, would require people receiving health insurance through Iowa's expanded Medicaid program known as IHAWP, or the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan, to work at least 80 hours each month to be eligible for coverage. IHAWP coverage is available to able-bodied Iowans from ages 19 to 64 who have household incomes at or below 133% of the federal poverty level — roughly $20,030 in annual income for a single individual and $27,186 for a household of two. Rep. Carter Nordman, R-Adel, the bill's floor manager, said Medicaid is intended to serve individuals with disabilities and with very low incomes. However, he said currently 'more able-bodied adults are accessing Medicaid benefits without the requirement of work' through the IHAWP program. 'While Medicaid expansion has been a vital safety net, it is not meant to be a permanent solution,' Nordman said. 'We want to help individuals transition off the reliance of government and into a position where they can thrive independently. Requiring work is a key part of that transition.' According to analysis by the Legislative Services Agency, roughly 142,000 of the 181,000 Iowans currently enrolled in IHAWP would be subject to work requirements under the bill when accounting for medical exemptions and other caveats provided in the legislation, like exemptions for people with children under age 6 and in substance abuse treatment programs for up to six months. Of the people who would be required to work 80 hours a month — and report this information to the state to continue receiving care — LSA estimated that 32,000 Iowans would lose IHAWP coverage if the bill is implemented. This figure was calculated using data from Arkansas, a state that previously implemented Medicaid work or community engagement requirements. Rep. Austin Baeth, D-Des Moines, said the bill will deprive low-income people of health care and coverage using a false argument that there are a large number of people receiving Medicaid coverage who are choosing not to work. He cited a study from the Kaiser Family Foundation that found 92% of adults under age 65 who did not receive benefits through other programs like Social Security or Medicare were working full or part time, or were not working because of caregiving responsibilities, school or due to an illness or disability. Baeth said the bill sends a 'cynical message that people in poverty are lazy' and will take away health care coverage from working Iowans who do not have the time or resources to meet the reporting requirements that would be implemented under the bill. 'Hardworking people are too busy working their jobs, trying to make rent, trying to put food on the table, not watching the news (to know) that they have to go to a particular website by a particular amount of time to press some particular button,' Baeth said. 'That's how people fall through the cracks. And when they fall through the cracks, in this particular case, it can be the matter of life or death.' A major point of contention for Democrats on the bill was language that directed the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to discontinue IHAWP if the federal government does not approve work requirements for the program. The House amended the bill to clarify that this 'trigger' language to seek federal approval for ending IHAWP would only apply if the implementation of work requirements has been federally approved and later revoked. If the federal government does not allow the state to end the Medicaid expansion program, the bill would direct Iowa HHS to pursue implementation of an 'alternative plan' acceptable under federal Medicaid administration guidelines. Nordman said the language on discontinuing IHAWP without work requirements was to avoid making Medicaid policy changes in Iowa contingent on who is in the White House. 'The reason why this is in there is we are not going to play this back-and-forth game with the federal government that would disallow us to do it every four years, and then we do it another four years, and then four years later we're not allowed to do it,' Nordman said. '… Just to make it clear, if this is approved by the Trump administration, as I believe it will be, the only reason why Medicaid expansion in the state would go away is because of a Democrat president.' Rep. Timi Brown-Powers, D-Waterloo, questioned how these changes would be implemented by HHS, pointing to the fact that the department has a 'pause' on hiring for new positions. LSA, a nonpartisan agency, noted that the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services had not responded to multiple requests for information on the fiscal impact of implementing work requirements, but estimated that the bill would result in $3.1 million in decreased Medicaid expenditures for fiscal year 2026 and $17.5 million in FY 2027. Iowa HHS has not responded to requests for comment on why information was not shared with LSA or lawmakers who said they had made requests. Brown-Powers said the department has also not shared figures on Medicaid waste, fraud or abuse occurring through IHAWP that would be addressed through work requirements. She said unless HHS data shows there is a substantial number of people misusing the expanded Medicaid system, the costs of implementing the bill will outweigh money saved. 'And guess what? We don't have a lot of money,' Brown-Powers said. 'We're already dipping into the funds to pay the bills. So how are we going to pay for this? Where are the (full-time employees) going to come (from) to monitor this? How are we going to assure Iowans that they're not going to lose their insurance?' Nordman said that in Iowa 'it is estimated that more than 100,000 able-bodied people on Medicaid expansion are not working … to their capacity or what they should be.' The bill also directs Iowa HHS to seek federal approval to implement work requirements for public assistance programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP recipients who are able-bodied adults with no dependents already are required to work, volunteer or participate in work programs for at least 80 hours a month to receive benefits. The House passed another bill Wednesday related to SNAP benefits that proposes a new $1 million appropriation to the food stamps program to the Double Up Food Bucks program, allowing recipients to double SNAP dollars for fresh produce purchases. However, the bill makes the additional funding contingent on the federal government approving restrictions on what foods are available for purchase through SNAP to only include healthful foods 'based on necessary nutrition for good health.' The House sent the legislation back to the Senate with some changes, including the language clarifying IHAWP federal approval contingencies as well as a new section requiring Iowa HHS to conduct a review on the Medicaid for employed people with disabilities program. The department would be directed to look at issues like eligibility criteria, asset limits and cost-sharing requirements in other states' programs over the 2025 interim and deliver a report to lawmakers by December with recommendations on how to expand employment opportunities for people with disabilities on this Medicaid program. The bill also includes a provision to raise the amount of available resources that a married couple receiving coverage through the Medicaid for employed people with disabilities program can have from $13,000 to $21,000. Individuals with disabilities on this program would still have the $13,000 asset limit if they are single. The amended bill must be approved by the Senate before it would go to Gov. Kim Reynolds for final approval. A spokesperson for the governor said Tuesday that the governor has directed HHS to submit a federal waiver for Medicaid work requirements independent of the legislation 'which will be done soon.'
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Anti-hunger advocates challenge bill that would limit food choices for Iowa SNAP recipients
Low-income Iowans would be limited in what foods they could buy with their federal food assistance dollars at the grocery store under a House bill that advanced Wednesday. While anti-hunger advocates approved of House Study Bill 216's $1 million appropriation to support the Double Up Food Bucks program, speakers at a subcommittee Wednesday decried the section of the bill requiring the state to request a federal waiver that would restrict what products Iowans can buy with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program dollars. Lawmakers on a House subcommittee advanced the bill Wednesday. Health and Human Services Committee Chair Carter Nordman, R-Dallas Center, said the full committee will consider adjustments to the bill, including language changes on the federal wavier the Iowa Health and Human Services has proposed. Sonia Reyes with Iowa Health and Human Services said a federal waiver might not be needed. Iowa HHS is asking lawmakers to amend the bill to have more flexible language around which items are available to SNAP recipients. The bill comes after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a 2023 law to make sweeping changes to SNAP, which expected to cut off food assistance benefits for thousands of Iowans by imposing stricter requirements like new asset tests and eligibility checks. Rep. Shannon Lundgren, R-Peosta, said she signed off on the bill to continue the discussion of possible changes to the legislation. "Again, just knowing that it doesn't solve all of the problems we are facing, maybe it creates new problems, we're hearing that," Lundgren said. "But in order to keep the discussion alive and maybe come up with some solutions before the end of the year, I think we need to have that vehicle." Rep. Rob Johnson, D-Des Moines, said with personal experience growing up in a family that relied on programs like SNAP, he couldn't support a bill that could limit Iowans' food options. "Again, I want to reiterate I appreciate the hard work of my fellow colleagues and legislators, but I cannot in good conscience support this bill in the way it is drafted currently ... " Johnson said. The bill requires the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to request a federal waiver that limits the foods available to SNAP recipients to: Real meat from cows, pigs and fish. Real eggs, including fresh and dried eggs and pasteurized liquid whole eggs. Real dairy products from cows, goats or sheep, such as milk, yogurt and cheese. Bread and grains, all cereals, granola and hot cereals, peanut butter and nuts, pasta, and rice and legumes. All fruits and vegetables. Any item on the Department of Health and Human Services' most recent published list of approved foods for the Iowa Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. The bill says the eligible foods can be fresh, frozen, canned, preserved, made into spreads or juiced. SNAP recipients can double their dollars through the state Double Up Food Bucks program to buy fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers markets, grocery stores, and other eligible locations. More: Iowa Senate bill would give $1 million to program that helps SNAP users buy produce Anti-hunger advocates said the bill could limit Iowa's SNAP recipients from buying items, such as bottled water, cooking oil, crackers and frozen or prepared meals. No one at the subcommittee spoke in support of the bill. Luke Elzinga, policy and advocacy manager for the DMARC Food Pantry Network, said two-thirds of the grocery store would be off-limits to SNAP recipients under the bill. "This bill punishes poor people, increases program stigma and pushes the stigma that low-income Iowans cannot be trusted to make the best food choices for their families," Elzinga said. Paige Chickering, Iowa state advocacy manager for the Save the Children Action Network, said the bill could also hurt food access to rural Iowans who already face grocery store deserts. She said grocery stores carry an average of 40,000 food items and there are over 650,000 different food and beverage items on the market. To comply with the bill, Chickering said retailers or the state would have to go through every product to classify whether it's eligible for SNAP recipients. "While some items may be straightforward, like sliced deli meat, many are not," Chickering said. "For example, is flour, counted as a grain, unpurchasable? or are kids' snack packs that include meat and cheese but also crackers allowed to be included under this legislation?" Sabine Martin covers politics for the Register. She can be reached by email at or by phone at (515) 284-8132. Follow her on X at @sabinefmartin. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: House bill would limit what foods Iowans can buy with SNAP dollars
