Signed by Governor Chet Culver

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

A vote to pass a bill that increases coverage for the state health insurance coverage plan, creates new entities for the oversight and administration of state health coverage, and enacts a variety of other changes regarding coverage.

Highlights:

-Lays out the objectives of the legislation, including ensuring that all children and adults have access to affordable health coverage, decreasing healthcare costs, and to develop a plan to offer coverage to nonstate public employees (Sec.2). -Creates the Iowa Choice Insurance Exchange, a nonprofit corporation that includes all insurance or health care providers in the state, and establishes the specific characteristics of the board of directors (Sec.4). -Outlines the responsibilities of the Exchange, including management of money, handling of risk, and long term planning (Sec.5). -Requires the exchange to create a comprehensive healthcare plan for children who lack coverage, in addition to the creation of other programs, including a three-tiered state coverage plan and increased inclusion in the state program (Sec.6). -Creates the Iowa Choice Insurance Exchange Fund, a separate fund within the state treasury where all money collected from premiums is deposited (Sec.8). -Gives the commissioner until February 15th 2010 to approve a health care plan and submit it for approval to the general assembly (Sec.10). -Requires notification via tax return of dependent children who lack health care coverage (Sec.26). -Adds mandatory coverage to pregnant women or infants whose family income is at or below three hundred percent of the federal poverty line (Sec.27). -Allows the director to contract specific participant insurers to provide dental-only coverage to eligible children under the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (Sec.38). -Expands the nurse and nurse educator loan forgiveness program to include community colleges (Sec.59). -Establishes the Health Care Workforce Shortage Fund, which will allocate money to medical training, nurse/health care professional shortage alleviation, the safety net provider network, and for assistance with national initiatives regarding healthcare workforce shortage (Sec.61). -Creates an evidence-based prescription drug education program to educate health care professionals who can prescribe drugs on the best therapeutic and cost-effective uses of prescription drugs (Sec.67). -Disallows certain gifts to health care practitioners with certain exceptions (Sec.70). -Provides a variety of privacy provisions, prohibiting the use of records in marketing, and providing a list of legitimate transfers of information or records (Sec.77). -Creates an office of health care reform to coordinate initiatives and maintain transparency (Sec.80).

Full Bill Text