Healthcare

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 19, 2025

HSB 159: A bill for an act relating to the suspension of child support and medical support in certain circumstances.

This bill allows Iowa courts to temporarily suspend child and medical support payments when a juvenile court places a child's custody or physical care with the person who owes those payments (the obligor). It creates a process where the obligor can apply for an immediate ("ex parte") suspension order, which takes effect when entered, and the recipient can later request termination of the suspension if custody returns to them. The application must include specific court details, and objections to suspension orders can be filed within 15 days, triggering a mandatory hearing within 7 days. The bill aims to align support modifications with custody changes under juvenile court orders, without altering the underlying support obligation.

Topics ✗ HealthcareOpposes HealthcareBill suspends medical support payments during custody changes, temporarily restricting healthcare funding for children, aligning with 'restricts health coverage' under oppose stance.85% confidence

Track

died · Iowa · House Mar 26, 2025

HF 948: A bill for an act relating to public assistance programs, work requirements for the Iowa health and wellness plan, an information technology fund, the public assistance modernization fund, and the Medicaid for employed people with disabilities program and program review and report.

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.

Topics ✗ HealthcareOpposes HealthcareImposes work requirements on IHAWP participants, restricting access to healthcare benefits for non-exempt individuals while creating barriers to maintain coverage.90% confidence ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyCreates Information Technology Fund to modernize state health systems, directly funding technology infrastructure for public assistance programs.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Medicaid

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 10, 2025

HSB 98: A bill for an act relating to certain emergency services provided by a city.

HSB 98 modifies rules for city emergency services. It clarifies that volunteer firefighters and emergency medical care providers may receive small payments or benefits while holding compatible city offices, and allows current city council members to serve as volunteer fire department chief with council approval (requiring them to abstain from voting on their own appointment). The bill establishes a dedicated fund for police, fire, rescue, and emergency medical equipment, requiring insurance payouts for damaged equipment to be deposited into this fund rather than the city's general budget. Cities may also transfer leftover funds to a reserve account for future equipment purchases, with specific rules for handling reimbursements from general fund spending.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareEstablishes dedicated fund for emergency medical equipment, directly supporting healthcare infrastructure and services.85% confidence

Tags Public Safety

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Mar 5, 2025

HF 748: A bill for an act relating to child endangerment, and providing penalties.

HF 748 amends Iowa's child endangerment law to clarify that willfully depriving a child under 18 of necessary food, clothing, shelter, health care, or appropriate supervision - when the caregiver can provide it and the deprivation harms the child’s health - constitutes a crime. It includes a religious exemption: refusal of specific medical treatment due to religious beliefs does not automatically count as willful deprivation, though courts may still intervene for the child’s best interest. Penalties range from an aggravated misdemeanor (up to 2 years in jail) for less severe cases to a class C felony (up to 10 years) for the most serious deprivation, or a class D felony (up to 5 years) for cases involving bodily injury or other specified violations. The bill directly affects parents, guardians, and household members responsible for children’s well-being.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill criminalizes denying children necessary healthcare (with religious exemption), protecting access to medical services. Courts may still intervene for child's best interest.85% confidence

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Mar 11, 2025

HF 469: A bill for an act relating to state services and benefits provided to veterans, including state grants, public assistance programs, business fee waivers, substance use disorder programs, mental health and disability services, undergraduate tuition and fees, disabled veteran tax credits, department of natural resources’ licenses and fees, civil litigation priority, permit to carry weapons fees, vehicle registration fees, and driver’s licenses, making penalties applicable, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions.

HF 469 expands benefits for Iowa veterans across multiple state services. It requires state agencies to give veterans preference for state grants and public assistance programs like food assistance and housing vouchers. The bill's key provision creates automatic fee waivers for veterans-owned businesses (including LLCs, corporations, and partnerships) when filing specific documents with the Secretary of State, eliminating associated fees for eligible veterans. It also extends benefits like tuition exemptions, tax credits, and priority in civil litigation, with penalties for noncompliance. The bill affects all Iowa veterans and veterans-owned businesses filing designated documents.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill provides disabled veteran tax credits and fee waivers, reducing tax burden for veterans, aligning with tax relief indicators.90% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareExpands mental health and substance use disorder services for veterans, directly advancing healthcare access in these areas per bill's explicit provisions.90% confidence ✓ HousingSupports HousingBill requires veterans preference for housing vouchers under public assistance programs, expanding access to affordable housing benefits for veterans.95% confidence ✓ VeteransSupports VeteransBill explicitly expands veterans' benefits: automatic fee waivers for veterans-owned businesses, preference in state grants/public assistance, and extended tuition/healthcare support per summary.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Substance Abuse Veteran Benefits Veteran Education Veteran Housing

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate Mar 3, 2025

SF 405: A bill for an act regarding restrictions on alcoholic beverage sales, including a voluntary exclusion program.

SF 405 creates a voluntary program allowing individuals to exclude themselves from purchasing alcohol at retail stores. People can request exclusion for 5 years or life, and stores must check an electronic list (with names and Social Security numbers) kept confidential, except when required by court order. The bill requires stores to provide information about substance use disorder treatment programs to anyone who requests exclusion, and protects stores and the state from liability if they follow the process. This directly affects individuals seeking to limit their alcohol access and retailers who sell alcohol.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill mandates retail stores to provide substance use disorder treatment program information upon exclusion requests, directly advancing access to healthcare services for mental health/substance use issues.85% confidence

Sub-Topics Substance Abuse

Track

died · Iowa · House Apr 28, 2025

HF 620: A bill for an act relating to the production of psilocybin and the administration of psilocybin to persons with post-traumatic stress disorder, and providing penalties.

HF 620 aims to legalize the production and administration of psilocybin for individuals diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The bill establishes a regulatory framework, defining roles for qualified medical providers who can recommend psilocybin and qualified therapy providers who can administer it. It also outlines requirements for psilocybin cultivation facilities and independent testing laboratories, including strict inventory control systems and secure administration locations. These provisions are designed to ensure controlled access and oversight of psilocybin for therapeutic use.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareLegalizes psilocybin therapy for PTSD under medical supervision, expanding mental health treatment access with regulatory safeguards for qualified providers and facilities.92% confidence

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 25, 2025

HF 584: A bill for an act relating to the opioid settlement fund, establishing the opioid epidemic response advisory council, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions.

HF 584 establishes Iowa's Opioid Epidemic Response Advisory Council to develop statewide strategies for addressing the opioid crisis. The council, composed of 11 appointed members representing health providers, treatment programs, courts, and local health departments, will focus on prevention, treatment access, recovery services, and overdose prevention - particularly expanding naloxone availability. It will review existing initiatives, set priorities, recommend specific projects for funding from the opioid settlement fund (capping grants at $500,000 each), and ensure funds align with other state and federal efforts. The council must report annually to the legislature by January 31 on funded projects and progress toward measurable goals like reducing overdoses and improving treatment access. This bill directly affects Iowans impacted by opioid use disorder and guides how settlement funds are allocated to combat the epidemic.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareEstablishes opioid response council to improve treatment access and naloxone availability, directly advancing public health healthcare services.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Substance Abuse

Track

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 28, 2025

HF 626: A bill for an act relating to monthly stipends for members of the Iowa veterans home, and making appropriations.

HF 626 creates an Iowa veterans home members fund in the state treasury to provide monthly stipends to eligible veterans. The bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to use fund money to give a $45 monthly stipend to each resident of an Iowa veterans home who receives Medicaid benefits. Funds in the new account come from state appropriations, federal sources, or private donations, and any unused balance at year-end cannot revert to the general state fund. This policy directly affects veterans living in state veterans homes who qualify for Medicaid, providing them with a fixed monthly financial support.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesCreates dedicated state fund for veterans stipends using appropriations, directly allocating budget resources to public assistance program.95% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill provides $45 monthly stipends to veterans receiving Medicaid, directly expanding healthcare access and financial support for Medicaid beneficiaries in veterans homes.85% confidence ✓ VeteransSupports VeteransCreates $45 monthly stipend fund for veterans home residents on Medicaid, directly expanding benefits and funding veteran services.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Memorials & Recognition Veteran Benefits Veteran Housing

Track

in committee · Iowa · Senate Jan 23, 2025

SF 109: A bill for an act relating to a family leave and medical leave insurance program that provides for paid, job-protected leave for certain family leave and medical leave reasons for eligible employees of specified employers.

SF 109 establishes Iowa's first state-run paid family and medical leave insurance program. It provides eligible employees at covered employers (private companies with 10+ workers, or all public employers) with up to 12 weeks of paid, job-protected leave annually for reasons like childbirth, caring for a seriously ill family member, or their own serious health condition. Employees qualify after working 1,250 hours over 12 consecutive months. The program covers up to 16 combined weeks of family and medical leave per year, with benefits calculated based on the employee's "spendable weekly earnings."

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill provides paid medical leave for serious health conditions, improving access to healthcare without income loss. Directly supports patient access via job-protected leave for medical reasons.92% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentEstablishes paid family/medical leave with job protection, expanding worker benefits and rights under labor/employment standards.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Paid Leave

Track