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Des Moines, Iowa -- House Democratic Leader Patrick Murphy
this week announced the appointment of State Representative Ro Foege as
ranking Democrat on the House Health and Human Services Appropriations
Subcommittee. Foege will also serve on the Education, Human Resources and
Judiciary Committees.
“Representative Foege is one of the top experts in the nation on child
welfare issues and a seasoned legislator who can forge consensus on some of
the toughest issues facing the state,” said Murphy. “I trust Rep. Foege to
make the right decisions for our children.”
Foege said he was elated to get the assignment. “We have no more important
task in government than to make sure that needy families, vulnerable
children, and frail elderly and disabled persons can get a helping hand when
they truly need it,” he said. “At the same time, I have a responsibility to
Iowa taxpayers to make sure that these programs are operated in the most
efficient manner possible, and to make sure that scarce state resources are
directed toward those most in need.”
The Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee oversees the budgets
for the Departments of Human Services, Public Health, and Elder Services.
State funding for programs overseen by these agencies is expected to exceed
$800 million in the current fiscal year, with the lion’s share of the
funding going to the Medicaid program to provide health care for low-income
families with children and for elderly and disabled persons.
“As the cost of health care continues to increase, the Medicaid budget is
going through the roof, not just in Iowa but in all the states. As one
possible solution, we’re going to look very hard at continuing to shift away
from institutional-based medical services toward more community-based
programs, which are usually the first choice of consumers and are less
expensive.”
Ro Foege, serving his fifth term in the Iowa House of Representatives, is a
retired school social worker and former Iowa School Social Worker of the
Year. He has served on a number of human services-related advisory
committees, served on the Marion Independent school board, and was a
founding board member of Alternative Services and Four Oaks. Foege, who
lives in Mt. Vernon and his wife, Susan Salter, have five adult children and
eight grandchildren.
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