House File 977 expands the ground emergency medical transportation (GEMT) program. It requires the Department of Health and Human Services to employ dedicated staff to increase enrollment of eligible GEMT providers. These staff will offer technical assistance, actuary support, and help with Medicaid enrollment to providers seeking to participate. The department is also directed to develop the program to ensure access to emergency medical services statewide. Additionally, an annual report on the program's status, including enrollment numbers and barriers, must be submitted to the general assembly.
HF 1000 establishes a veterans service organization grant program and fund under the Department of Veterans Affairs. This program provides matching funds to eligible veterans service organizations to help them employ staff. These staff members are specifically tasked with assisting veterans in filing claims. To receive a grant, organizations must demonstrate they have budgeted their own funds, and the bill initially appropriates $250,000 to the fund for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2025.
House File 807, the "Compassion and Care for Medically Challenging Pregnancies Act," establishes a framework for supporting pregnant women diagnosed with a lethal fetal anomaly. The bill allows healthcare practitioners to inform these women about available perinatal hospice services and offer referrals. It also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to compile and post a geographically organized list and information sheet about perinatal hospice services in Iowa and nationally, available in both English and Spanish, on its website.
This bill increases penalties for individuals who commit assaults against specific professionals, including peace officers, correctional staff, healthcare providers, firefighters, and certain state employees. It upgrades assaults intended to inflict serious injury or involving a dangerous weapon from a Class D to a Class C felony. Additionally, assaults causing bodily injury or mental illness against these professionals are elevated from an aggravated misdemeanor to a Class D felony. Other assaults, such as those causing contact with saliva, are reclassified from a serious to an aggravated misdemeanor, and carry a mandatory minimum 7-day jail sentence that cannot be suspended.
HF 948 establishes work requirements for Iowa's Health and Wellness Plan (IHAWP), requiring most participants to work at least 80 hours monthly to maintain benefits, with exemptions for children, seniors, people with disabilities, and others. It creates an Information Technology Fund to modernize state health systems, transferring unspent funds from a previous public assistance modernization fund. The bill also updates eligibility for Iowa's Medicaid for Employed People with Disabilities program to disregard certain income and asset limits (up to $10,000 for individuals), and mandates a state review of similar programs in other states by December 2025. These changes directly affect low-income Iowans enrolled in IHAWP or the Medicaid program for employed people with disabilities.
