We have all seen our health insurance dramatically increase. As a state, it’s time we did something about it. The Senate Republicans have filed the following bills over the last 2-months. However, the Democrats have refused to bring them to the floor for debate.
SF 2121 Low-cost catastrophic health plans for those under 30. Iowa Senate Republicans propose legislation that will encourage the development of low cost catastrophic insurance products that will provide base care for younger Iowans.
SF 2282 The Patients Right to Know Act. Iowa Senate Republicans believe the information age provides a tremendous opportunity to dramatically improve access to tools that compare cost and quality in the delivery of health care services on-line. We propose legislation to establish a statewide information hub that brings together both cost and outcome quality data in a searchable format for online consumers.
SF 2362 Prevention credits: putting a premium on wellness. These “prevention credits” will allow an average Iowa family to save upwards of 15% on their health insurance premium or $1,635 on an average family policy. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services there is a return on investment of up to $4.91 for every dollar spent on wellness. This shift in policy will save Iowa families real money while reducing the long term cost of health care in the state.
SF 2005 Tort and lawsuit abuse reform. No serious attempt at reducing rising health care and insurance costs can move forward without an honest attempt to address the issue of medical malpractice and tort reform.
SF 2132 Expand health insurance tax deductibility to individuals and small business. Current law allows large employers the opportunity to deduct health care costs “above the line” – meaning a straight dollar for dollar reduction in their taxable income equal to the employer share of health insurance costs. This creates a significant incentive to provide health insurance.
With a significant portion of our population now working for small businesses or for themselves, we believe such above the line deductions for health insurance costs should be extended to all businesses and individuals.
SF 2097 and SF 2139 No unfunded federal mandate and choice of health care. With the state struggling to currently pay its’ obligations any additional unfunded mandate handed down by the federal government on health care would break the bank. In addition Senate Republicans do not believe it is important or right to force individuals to purchase something they may not want.
SF 2133 No pre-existing exclusions when changing plans with the same insurance provider. The simple act of moving from Plan A to Plan B (for whatever reason) within the same insurance company should not provide an opportunity to base coverage exclusions as if the employee were accessing coverage with that company for the first time.
**Additionally, Senate Republicans believe Iowans should be allowed to purchase health insurance across state lines. Federal law currently precludes this action from happening.