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Visit to New Orleans shows what Iowa is doing right
Two weeks ago, I attended the annual meeting of the National
Conference of State Legislatures in New
Orleans. This conference and the location had
more of an impact on my politics and on policy than I expected it would. It allowed me to meet, mingle and exchange
policy initiatives on health care, but also gave me the chance to see firsthand
the devastation and rebuilding of a great city.
After cautiously promoting Iowa’s health care reform at the beginning
of the summit, I found panelists from around the country mentioning our state’s
initiatives in their presentations. Indeed, our attempt to deliver health
care to Iowans is becoming a part of the national dialog.
Iowa
is now a national leader in health care reform because we’re:
Working to provide health care for all kids by 2011. Iowa
is the only state to guarantee coverage to all kids (and we’re committing $25
million over the next three years to accomplish our goal).
Requiring a “medical home” to coordinate patient care for
all Iowans on public health plans, such as Medicaid, Hawk-I, Iowa Care and
Iowa Choice.
Providing electronic medical records and expanding tele-medicine.
This is a key to offering top-notch medical care. With money from the
federal government and our state-owned fiber optic system, we’ll have this
system in place at all hospitals and most medical clinics within three
years.
Promoting preventive care and chronic disease management
by tying proactive medicine to physician reimbursement.
We’ll continue our commitment to making quality health
care accessible to all Iowans by forging partnerships with the federal
government and with health care stakeholders.
On Aug. 20, state and federal leaders will hold a “Health
Care Roundtable” discussion on how best to build on this year’s successful
reforms. The event will take place from
9 to 10:30 a.m. at Des Moines University’s Medical Education
Center, 3200 Grand Avenue.
The roundtable is open to the public.
When I arrived in the city, I got a call from a friend and
former Iowa Senate staffer, Linda Santi. She
moved to New Orleans six years ago and
immediately immersed herself in southern culture and New Orleans politics.
Linda took me around to see all the devastation still
visible from Hurricane Katrina and the flooding of 2005. Cedar
Rapids is its mirror image. There are still
blocks of abandoned housing in New
Orleans, but we also saw that people are moving
back, rebuilding and living.
As we drove through neighborhoods that had been
devastated, Linda called from her car window, “Hey, Miss Lillian, how you doin’?” And she’d get an enthusiastic response: “Wonderful,
Miss Linda!” In spite of what they’d been through, people had something
positive to say. Slowly but surely, the
community, churches, non-profits and government are rebuilding.
Here in Iowa, where the flooding
matched any city block in New
Orleans, we can learn some positive lessons from our
southern friends. Just like New Orleans, we will
bounce back—our churches, community centers and government… but most of all, our
people.
On Monday, August 11, the Iowa Choice Advisory Council held
its first meeting. Iowa Choice was created in House File 2539 to
develop a plan for making sure all Iowans have access to health care.
On Wednesday, August 13, the Legislative Commission on
Affordable Health Care will hold its final meeting to review the Health Care
Reform legislation, get an update on health care reform implementation, and
receive a report from the Lewin Group on "Cost
and Coverage Impacts of Options for Expanding Health Insurance Coverage in Iowa." The
meeting will be held at Des Moines University’s Student Education
Center, Building 4
Auditorium, at 10 a.m.
On Wednesday, August 20, a bipartisan roundtable
discussion on health care, including state and national leaders, will be held
at Des Moines University,
Medical Education Center,
1st Floor, from 9 to 10:30 a.m.
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