CURRENT ISSUES

County Mental Health & Disability Services (MH/DS) System

• Click here for information on the 2009 interim committee looking at the adult MH/MR/DD system.

• Click here for the final report (1/8/2010) of the interim MH/MR/DD committee.

Government Reorganization

• Click here for the recommendations of the Legislature's State Government Reorganization Commission.

• Click here for the Governor's efficiency consultant's recommendations on government reorganization.

• Read the state government reorganization bill (SF 2088) as passed by the Senate, and the House amendment (S-5072).

• Click here for a detailed analysis of the bill as passed by the Senate & House.

• Click on the following links for documents about closure of the MHIs, reorganization of DHS, and lists of health and human services related boards and commissions to be eliminated or merged.

Health & Human Services (HHS) Budget

• Click here for the document legislators are using to help guide their budget decisions for the next budget (Fiscal Year 2011).  Legislators are using this to establish "priority" programs and services, those that would not be cut, or would be cut as little as possible.

• Click here for Subcommittee meeting agendas & all materials handed out.

• Click here to review the budget targets for the next fiscal year (FY 2011).  Fiscal year 2011 begins July 1, 2010 and goes until June 31, 2011.  

Health Insurance Mandates

• Click here for statistics on mental health parity.
• Click here for information on the insurance mandates for children's hearing aids.

Updating the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

• Click here for information on updates to Iowa's code.  The bill is SF 2202.
  

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2009 Archived Issues
These issues are still relevant but have not been updated since session ended in April.

Governor's Task Force on Dependent Adults with Mental Retardation (Atalissa Task Force)

• Click here for the report issued by the Governor's Task Force on Dependent Adults with Mental Retardation.

White House Summit on Health Care - Click here to read about it.

County Mental Health & Disability Services (MH/DS) System

• Click here to view the final FY 2008 budget year ending fund balances for each of Iowa's 99 counties, and the total amount spent on services in these counties.

• Click here for FY 2009 funding of the state/county MH/MR/DD services system.

• Click here for a year-by-year history of the county/state MH/MR/DD services system partnership.

• Click here for lots of information about the MH/MR/DD system (from 2006 interim), including use data

  • MH/MR/DD System Funding by Source

  • Overall Disability System Funding by Source

  • Total MH Medicaid Expenditures

  • Historical county expenditures

Health & Human Services (HHS) Budget

• Click here to see what 1.5% cuts mean to various programs and services for FY09 in the Department of Human Services.

• Click here to read the memo issued by DHS about proposed cuts in FY09.

• Click here to view the proposed 4% reduction in provider reimbursements, beginning March 1, 2009 (if federal action does not provide additional funds). NOTE: Federal action was taken, so this did not happen.
  

• Click here for the non-partisan legislative fiscal bureau analysis of the Governor's proposed FY 2010 budget.

 Mental Health Parity

• Click here for the Parity Coalition's Action Alert - action needed by February 11. The bill number is HF 234.  
  

 Health Care Reform

• Click here for a chart showing the progress made in reforming our state's health care system after last year's Health Care Reform for All Act.

• Click here for the Senate Democrats' press release on their follow-up legislation to last year's health care reform bill (SF 48). Click here for actual statements made at press conference by people impacted by lack of access to adequate and affordable health insurance.
  
  
• Click here for testimony provided to the State Health Care Reform Commission's State Pooling Work Group.
  
  
• Click here to view more about the Health Care Reform Commission.
  - Administration of Health Care Reform in Iowa
  - Coverage of Adults Work Group
  - Use/Creation of a State Pool Work Group

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2008 Archived Issues
These issues are still relevant, but have not been updated for 2009.

Access to Psychiatric Drugs

• Click here for Talking Points from NAMI Iowa and Iowa Psychiatric Society.

• Click here to review the law that excludes psychiatric drugs from any Preferred Drug List.
  

Epilepsy & Seizure Disorder Drug Safety

• Click here for an Action Alert from the Iowa Epilepsy Foundation.

• Click here for a Question & Answer sheet from the Iowa Epilepsy Foundation.

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