2023 Federal priorities

2022 Federal Priorities

Oppose Cuts and Promote Regulatory Relief

  • Iowa hospitals are already facing more than $5 billion in payment reductions. Continued cuts threaten access to quality health care services and damages the state’s health care infrastructure.
  • Reduce administrative activities related to regulatory compliance so that clinicians can spend more time on patients rather than paperwork.
  • Regulatory burdens cost $1,200 every time a patient is admitted to a hospital. Compliance can cost $7.6 million annually per hospital.

Support the 340B Drug Savings Program

  • Prevent cuts to the 340B drug savings program, which allows Iowa hospitals to provide financial assistance to patients unable to afford their prescriptions and invest in programs that improve access to care in communities.
  • For more than 20 years, the 340B Drug Pricing Program has provided financial relief from high prescription drug costs to certain hospitals. 340B is not a taxpayer-funded program and adds no cost to the government.
  • Efforts to scale back or add additional red tape to the program would hurt patients while adding to the record profits of pharmaceutical companies.

Combat the Opioid Epidemic

  • Iowa is fortunate to have a relatively low opioid death rate compared to national statistics, but the rate has increased significantly over the past two decades.
  • Support funding for opioid treatment and education for clinicians and patients.
  • Reform provisions that prevent responsible sharing of health records for treatment purposes

Sustain Gains in Health Insurance Coverage

  • Iowa’s uninsured rate has seen significant declines and is below 5 percent.  Policymakers should preserve these gains by advancing alternatives to the recently repealed federal individual coverage mandate.
  • Support efforts to improve stability of the Health Insurance Marketplaces by fully funding the cost-sharing reduction subsidies and supporting policies seeking to reduce the cost of health insurance.
  • Tens of thousands of Iowans rely on the Health Insurance Marketplace for health insurance coverage and enrollment is increasing despite a lack of insurance carrier options.

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