February 5, 2007
Representative Ro Foege: 319-895-6043
Senate Leader Mike Gronstal: 515-281-3901
DES MOINES – Today leaders from the Iowa House and Senate set a goal of becoming the first state in the nation in which all children have health insurance.
“We will rely on a partnership to guarantee that every Iowa child has affordable, accessible health care” said State Representative Ro Foege of Mount Vernon, who co-chaired the Legislative Commission on Affordable Health Care. “In the process of covering all Iowa’s kids, we will begin a fundamental reform of Iowa’s health care system focusing on expanded coverage, prevention and cost containment.”
The legislation introduced today would cover an additional 25,000 children through hawk-i, Medicaid, and other government health insurance programs. The 19,000 remaining Iowa children without health care would be covered by private insurance plans. Families with an income between 200 and 300 percent of the federal poverty level would receive a state subsidy to help them purchase insurance for their children.
The private health insurance plans included in by the effort will be those approved by a new Health Care Insurance Exchange. This quasi-public agency will set minimum requirements, similar to the existing Hawk-I Board.
“We will cover all Iowa’s children with a plan that focuses on choice, affordability, consumer information, cost containment, and preventive health care,” said Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal. “I believe we can accomplish this goal in the next two to three years.”
The legislation offered today begins a major overall reform of Iowa’s health care system including telemedicine, the creation of “medical homes” to help patients receive consistent care focused on prevention, cost containment, and an insurance exchange to improve quality and lower costs for private insurance plans sold in Iowa.
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