COMMUNITY COLLEGES ARE KEY TO EXPANDING IOWA’S MIDDLE CLASS

Iowa’s community colleges play a big role in expanding our middle class by helping more Iowans gain the knowledge and skills they need to fill jobs, further their education and enhance their quality of life. 

Mason City schools established Iowa’s first two-year educational institution in 1918. By 1930, at least 32 Iowa communities had organized junior colleges as part of their public school systems.  

In 1965, the Legislature merged many of these junior colleges—now known as community colleges—and established financial support through student tuition, as well as federal, state and local funds. At the time, these colleges had 9,110 students. Fifty years later, enrollment is 10 times that. In 2015, Iowa’s community colleges educated and trained more than 93,000 Iowans.

Today, community college students include:

• 64,235 Iowans taking courses to get an associate’s degree or to transfer to a four-year college or university.

• 27,742 Iowans enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) programs that prepare them for skilled jobs.

• 33,145 high school students earning their first college credits. High schoolers now make up more than a third of community college students, up 5.4 percent from last year.

• 232,480 Iowans participating in non-credit programs and courses that teach basic personal and academic skills, prepare people to enter the workforce, provide technical training for specific job opportunities and allow citizens to pursue special interests.

Because they do so much for Iowans, businesses, communities and our economy, community colleges deserve our support. For more on all the good things community colleges do in Iowa, see the 2015 Community College Annual Report on the Iowa Department of Education website.

SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH MEDICAID PRIVATIZATION

On April 1, Governor Branstad’s plan to turn over management of Iowa Medicaid to three out-of-state companies became a reality for 560,000 Iowans. If you or a loved one is on Medicaid, please share your story by taking this short survey on Iowa’s Medicaid transition: http://iowansforqualitymedicaid.com/survey/. 

With your help, we’ll continue pushing for tough oversight and accountability to keep Iowa’s health care safety net strong. We must ensure this major shake-up doesn’t hurt our elderly, Iowans with disabilities and others Medicaid was designed to help. 

If you have questions about the new Medicaid system, I’ve included a list of helpful contacts at the end of this week’s newsletter.

IOWANS DESERVE PRIVACY AT HOME

All Iowans should feel comfortable in their homes. The thought of being watched or even filmed is alarming, but it’s a real worry for some. New technology has allowed some bad players to install filming devices in homes and apartments without the permission or knowledge residents. Residents and their activities can then be viewed from a remote location. It’s a violation of personal privacy that can cause lasting social, psychological and emotional damage. 

Senate File 2185 is a bipartisan effort to punish unscrupulous landlords and others who film Iowans in their home or apartment without their knowledge. The bill expands Iowa’s definition of trespass to include intentionally viewing, photographing or filming another person in a dwelling with no legitimate purpose, when the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy and has not consented to being filmed or photographed. This would include placing a camera or filming device on the property and retrieving it at a later date.

NEW APPROACH TO STOP DRUNK DRIVING

This year, the Iowa Senate approved an initiative to reduce fatalities and other drug and alcohol-related crimes. SF 2190 would establish 24/7 Sobriety pilot projects in counties that want to try the program. Accountability is the foundation of 24/7 Sobriety. Offenders must take breath tests twice a day or wear an alcohol-monitoring bracelet. If offenders test positive for alcohol, they face immediate consequences.

Results in other states have been positive. South Dakota, for example, saw a reduction in arrests for repeat DUI and domestic violence offenses. In 2005, South Dakota was the first state to establish a 24/7 program, with a five county pilot project that has since expanded. A study of that state’s efforts published in the American Journal of Public Health found that “that frequent alcohol testing with swift, certain, and modest sanctions can reduce problem drinking and improve public health outcomes.” 

Establishing a 24/7 Sobriety pilot project in Iowa won bipartisan approval in the Senate and is now under consideration in the House. 

BILLS SIGNED INTO LAW

With the 2016 session moving toward adjournment, many bills are finding consensus in the Legislature and making their way to the Governor’s desk. New laws to boost our economy, honor military veterans, enhance public safety and improve quality of life include:

• Tax credits to spur Iowa ag and biosciences – The U.S. market for chemicals is more than $250 billion a year. By substituting Iowa bio-based chemicals for petroleum in products, the Iowa economy has an opportunity to boom. SF 2300 will provide tax credits to industries that turn byproducts from biomass feedstock into higher-value chemicals. Tax credits will be available to startups and established businesses on a first-come, first-served basis starting next year.

• Preventing drug overdose deaths – SF 2218 offers better access to a life-saving emergency drug that counteracts an opioid overdose, which killed 646 Iowans between 2009 and 2014. Health care professionals and emergency responders will be able to store the opioid antagonist and administer it in cases of an overdose. Family members, caregivers and others also may qualify to administer the emergency drug. The Iowa Department of Public Health will develop standards and procedures for prescribing, distributing and storing the antagonist, as well as for training people to administer it.

• Providing a final resting place for all veterans – HF 2266 addresses a problem that goes unnoticed by many: the unclaimed remains of veterans who died alone. We’ve created a process for funeral homes with unclaimed cremated remains to work with the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs to identify them. If the remains of a veteran, their spouse or their dependent remain unclaimed, a veterans’ organization will make arrangements for inurnment at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery.

• License plate decals to benefit nonprofits – HF 617 will give Iowa nonprofits a new way to promote their cause and raise money. The Iowa Department of Transportation will create a special license plate with a spot for an organization’s decal. The organization will design, produce and sell the decal, and keep the money they charge for it. Qualifying organizations include nonprofits that serve the community, contribute to the welfare of others and are not discriminatory. 

NEWS YOU CAN USE

April is Donate Life Month

When Iowans register to be organ donors, they are agreeing to help save lives and offering hope to those who wait. Each April during Donate Life Month, hospitals, health care organizations and Iowa Donor Network volunteers encourage Iowans to register to be organ, tissue and eye donors. Although 65 percent of adults are registered donors in Iowa, the number of people in need of transplants outpaces the number of donor organs. For more information on organ donation, go to www.iowadonornetwork.org.

Nominations open for African American Hall of Fame

Through June 6, nominations are being accepted for the Iowa African American Hall of Fame. Nominations should be based on major contributions of statewide significance that have improved quality of life for Iowans. To learn more about the Hall of Fame, get nomination guidelines and review a completed nomination form, go to www.iaahf.org.  

Nominate a farmer who shows environmental leadership

Through June 15, Iowans may nominate farmers for the Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Award, which recognizes those who take voluntary action to improve and protect our soil and water quality. Nominees should make environmental stewardship a priority on their farm and incorporate best management practices. As stewards of the land, they recognize that improved water quality and healthy soil reap benefits that extend far beyond their fields. Nomination forms and further information are at www.iowaagriculture.gov/EnvironmentalLeader.asp.

Helpful Medicaid contacts

Here are some helpful resources for Medicaid recipients and health care providers transitioning to the new managed care system that went into effect April 1:

• Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) offer health coverage to most Medicaid recipients.
  • Amerigroup Iowa, Inc.
    Member services: 1-800-600-4441
    Provider services: 1-800-454-3730
    Web: www.myamerigroup.com/IA

  • AmeriHealth Caritas
    Member services: 1-855-332-2440
    Provider services: 1-855-287-7855
    Web: www.amerihealthcaritasia.com
  • UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley
    Member services: 1-800-464-9484
    Provider services: 1-888-650-3462
    Web: www.UHCCommunityPlan.com/ia
• Medicaid Member Services assists Medicaid recipients with questions and concerns about health care coverage, MCO enrollment, and which MCOs their health care provider has signed up with.

  Toll Free: 1-800-338-8366
  Des Moines area: 515-256-4606
  Website: www.IAHealthLink.gov
  E-mail: IMEMemberServices@dhs.state.ia.us

• Iowa Medicaid Provider Services enroll health care providers with Iowa Medicaid and assist with eligibility and MCO questions.

  Toll Free: 1-800-338-7909
  Des Moines area: 515-256-4609
  E-mail: IMEProviderServices@dhs.state.ia.us

• Managed Care Ombudsman can help Iowa Medicaid recipients who live in a health care facility, assisted living program or elder group home, as well as those enrolled in certain Home & Community-Based Services programs.

  Toll Free: 1-866-236-1430
  E-mail: ManagedCareOmbudsman@Iowa.gov
  More information: https://www.iowaaging.gov/long-term-care-ombudsman/managed-care-ombudsman.