Week 16 of the 2021 Legislative Session was action-packed from an Appropriations Committee meeting to floor debate to a public bill signing.
The House Appropriations Committee this week passed the Health and Human Services Budget. This $2 billion budget bill prioritizes child care, mental health services, telehealth, and nursing homes. Highlights of this bill include:
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Child Care. This budget increases child care rates by $13.4 million and includes language to fix the child care cliff effect by creating an “off ramp” from Child Care Assistance (CCA) program. This will allow parents to grow in their careers without entirely losing their child care assistance.
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Telehealth. The budget proposal also includes language, which previously was passed by the House but stalled in the Senate, to require health insurers to reimburse for mental health services provided through telehealth at the same rate as services provided in-person. This will be a huge help to all Iowans, especially those in our rural communities.
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Mental Health. This budget makes a significant investment in mental health services by including $33.5 million in rate increases for mental health providers and families through Medicaid. It also includes significant increases for children’s mental health services, home-based habilitation, rural physiatrists, and more.
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Nursing Homes. This budget includes a $52.7 million increase to nursing homes as Iowa’s 444 nursing homes have worked tirelessly throughout the public health emergency to protect their vulnerable residents.
HF 889 to Ban Vaccine Passports
From the many emails I received, Iowans made it clear they want their medical freedoms protected. They also want their healthcare information to remain private. That’s why House Republicans this week passed House File 889, a bill to ban vaccine passports in Iowa. This bill prohibits state and local governments from issuing any sort of identification card that identifies a person’s COVID-19 vaccination status. This bill also states businesses that require proof of vaccination from customers, clients or others will become ineligible for state contracts or grants. However, it grants exceptions for health and long-term care facilities. This exception does not aim to allow any health or long-term care facility to deny anyone care or entry, but it is intended to allow these facilities the flexibility to tailor their protocols to the individual depending on their vaccination status.
Agritourism Protection Act (SF 356)
The local food movement has grown in recent years, and the interest increased even more during the COVID-19 pandemic. Agritourism activities provide experiences for families to enjoy our state’s great agricultural history while creating opportunities for consumers to connect with the people who produce the food they serve their families.
I served as the floor manager for Senate File 356, which protects agritourism operators but does not excuse any farm owner from being illegal, incompetent, or negligent.
Iowa’s 90 pumpkin patches, 50 apple orchards, and 20 U-pick strawberry patches contribute to our state’s economic development. I believe the passage of the SF 356, the Iowa Agricultural Tourism Promotion Act, will indeed promote agritourism activities across our great state.
As always, please contact me any questions or concerns about general issues or specific bills. You’re welcome to send an email to Shannon.Latham@legis.iowa.gov or message me on my political Facebook page (@ShannonLathamIA).
“Front Row News” is distributed to local newspapers and interested constituents at the end of each week throughout the legislative session. “Looking Ahead with Latham” is a video update posted each Monday on my political Facebook page.
