The Rozenboom Report – March 8th, 2024

by Senator Ken Rozenboom

Second legislative funnel

Next week is the second legislative deadline of the year, pushing the legislature to focus on getting bills received from the House of Representatives through subcommittee and committee this week. This rule is an important part of the process as we work through bills and find policy with the necessary support to continue advancing through the legislative process.

Patient’s Right to Save Act

Senate File 2381 passed this week. It is known as the Patient’s Right to Save Act. This bill has three key elements. First, it requires all health care providers to establish and disclose a discounted cash price it will accept for specific health care services. This price would be available to both insured and uninsured individuals and posted on their website. Second, it permits an individual to apply the cash payment towards their deductible as a credit. Third, the bill establishes a savings incentive program for covered individuals who met their deductible to receive cash back in an amount up to half the difference between the discounted cash price and the average insurance rate for that covered health care service. Incentivizing cost-sharing with cash payment options that are cheaper than the insurance negotiated prices will reduce unnecessary, expensive treatments that have no guarantee of high-quality care. This bill is one way we can help patients, especially those with chronic conditions, have more dollars in their pockets and not tied up in rising health care bills.

Review of administrative rules

This week the Iowa Senate passed SF 2370, which requires a rolling five-year review of all administrative rules. Additionally, the bill requires a jobs impact statement for any rule an agency proposes that may have an impact on private sector jobs.

Governor Reynolds proposed this bill to ensure that state government is reviewing its rules and considering the impact those rules have on job creation. The complaint from the big government advocates during debate centered around the bill being too much work for government to comply with these requirements. Claiming it is too much work for government to review its own rules is contrary to the ideals of a free society. It is incumbent upon government to evaluate its rules and ensure they are not overly burdensome on the private sector. The real challenge for Iowans is to make a living while complying with these rules, and it is reasonable for government to take a regular review of the regulations and ensure that those regulations are reasonable and not overly burdensome.

Every state is a border state now

Illegal immigration is one of the top issues on the minds of people across the country. The crisis at the border caused by the inaction of the Biden Administration has threatened the well-being and welfare of families, not just in states and cities along the U.S.-Mexico border, but everywhere. It has caused a rise in human trafficking, the free flow of illegal drugs, and other crime.

While the responsibility to protect the American people and secure the border primarily rests with the federal government, Iowa has been compelled to take action to protect our own citizens. Over the summer, Governor Kim Reynolds sent over 100 members of the Iowa National Guard and Iowa Department of Public Safety to the border to assist with Operation Lone Star. Throughout that time, Iowa guardsmen helped with cases involving drug trafficking, human trafficking, weapons arrest, vehicle pursuits and took almost two thousand illegal immigrants into custody.

Last week, the Iowa Senate passed the E-Verify bill, ensuring Iowa businesses are only employing workers that are in the country legally. This week, the Senate passed Senate File 2340, criminalizing the act of being an illegal alien in Iowa. Currently, this is only a federal crime. Making it a crime at the state level provides additional tools for Iowa law enforcement as our communities deal with the ramifications of the border emergency.

Making Iowa Taxpayers the Priority

Iowans for Tax Relief recently conducted a poll showing strong public support for an amendment to the Iowa Constitution requiring a supermajority (two-thirds vote) to raise taxes or pass a new tax on Iowans. The poll also showed support for a Constitutional requirement for a single income tax rate, commonly referred to as a flat tax. This week the Senate Ways and Means Committee advanced those policies as amendments to the Iowa Constitution.

Too often the debate over tax rates is considered in terms of how much money is available for the government to spend, the impact of tax rates on government, or how the government will be able to “afford” a reduction in income or property taxes. The focus for every discussion on taxes should be on the taxpayer. Iowans work hard to put food on the table and provide shelter, clothing, and transportation for their families. Every dollar the government demands from them is one less dollar to provide for those necessities and an impediment to their ability to live the American dream.

In Iowa, gubernatorial appointees to various departments, boards and commissions require a supermajority vote by the Senate to be confirmed to those jobs. If it takes a two-thirds vote of the Senate to approve someone to serve on the Elevator Board, it certainly should require a two-thirds vote of lawmakers to approve the government’s ability to confiscate more of the money Iowans dedicate their lives to earning.

If these amendments are passed by both chambers, they would need to be approved again during the next General Assembly and they could be voted by Iowans in the 2026 General Election. Senate Republicans look forward to continuing to do the will of the people by ensuring they keep more of what they earn.