The pace of this legislative session is now full speed ahead. Last week I managed a mental health risk pool bill in the House Appropriations Committee, chaired three two hour meetings of the Health & Human Services Appropriations Sub-committee, delivered a speech to United Way staff and volunteers from across Iowa, visited with the Veterans Services staff at Camp Dodge, and chaired the Medical Assistance Projections and Assessment Council Meeting.

The House Appropriations Committee approved Senate File 2023, which earmarks unanticipated utility generation tax revenues for the mental health risk pool. The mental health risk pool was established to help counties who have exhausted all, or nearly all, available resources for mental health services, due to the constraints placed on their tax levies by Iowa law.

Currently, the risk pool has a balance of $560,000. Senate File 2023 will add an additional $627,000 in this current fiscal year, making $1,187,000 available for the mental health risk pool. Beginning next year, fiscal year 2009, this legislation will provide $1.2 million annually to the mental health risk pool for distribution to those counties that are in the most need of mental health funds. I will have the opportunity to manage the bill on the House floor for consideration by the entire House.

Our Health & Human Services Appropriations Sub-committee heard this week from providers of public health, mental heath and substance abuse services across the state. We are fortunate to have leaders in these endeavors from Linn and Johnson Counties. Craig Wood, Cindy Koestner, Dan Strellner, and Art Schut are all leaders from our area who testified before the committee this past week. We know that we have too many unmet needs in community services available for people with emotional and behavioral disorders and substance abuse issues. If we do not adequately address these issues, we can be assured of having to build more prisons at a much higher cost to Iowa taxpayers.

On Wednesday, United Way staff and volunteers met at the Capital to thank legislators for funding the 2-1-1 initiative. 2-1-1 is a free 24 hour referral helpline that allow callers to speak with trained professionals about available health and human services. The service is available in all of Iowa’s 99 counties and receives more than 20,000 calls a month. The program is nationally recognized for its effectiveness during disasters and crisis recovery efforts. It was a delight to greet our neighbors, Kay Fisk, Chris Juett, Sarah Olson and Lois Buntz from the East Central Iowa United Way.

One important part of the Health & Human Services Appropriations responsibility is the funding of Veterans Services and the Veterans Home at Marshalltown. In my effort to learn all I can about these essential services for those who served our country, I visited with the staff at Camp Dodge. I can assure you that we have very dedicated staff to look out for the needs of our veterans.

And finally, on Friday, I chaired the Council that oversees the IowaCare program. IowaCare is the program we established several years ago to replace the State Papers program. The federal government would not allow us to continue the State Papers program, but we were able to negotiate to replace it with the IowaCare program, which provides medical services to the lowest income citizens of Iowa.

The previous State Papers program served about 4,200 patients at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Today, under the IowaCare program, the State of Iowa serves over 20,000 individuals at UHIC and at Broadlawns Hospital in Des Moines. At our meeting on Friday, we heard representatives of St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, who made us aware of some of their frustrations with the program and provided us with suggestions regarding how we can improve health care services to indigent Iowans.

I am looking forward to another very busy week working at the Capitol for my neighbors of House District 29. You can write me at the State Capitol, Des Moines, IA 50319; call me at 515/281-7328 or e-mail me at ro.foege@legis.state.ia.us. You are invited to meet with me and Senator Dvorsky at the LWV public forum on Saturday, February 9, 10:30 AM at Hills Bank, Mount Vernon.

Ro

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