a communication of the Iowa Nurses Association

President LaVone Sopher, past-president Judy Collins, Board Member Deb Sokolowski and Executive Director Linda Goeldner met with the Governor, Speaker of the House, House Majority Leader, House Minority Leader, President of the Senate and Senate Majority Leader on Tuesday, January 18, 2000. INA Agenda 2000 was discussed with these individuals. Each of the leadership provided their perspective on the relative success the INA agenda would have during this legislative session.

1. Support adoption of an Interstate Compact to facilitate a system of licensure in which a single license allows a nurse to practice in multiple states with a "multistate licensure privilege".
2. Appropriate the tobacco settlement dollars for health care purposes with attention to: 1) school programs to reduce tobacco use and improve health, 2) assuring health services provided by school nurses are included in state school accreditation standards, and 3) programs to reduce school violence.
3. Support parity in health insurance policies for mental health and substance abuse coverage and appropriate housing.
4. Assure nursing supervision of emergency medical services personnel when they work in the non-emergency, non-lifesaving acute care settings.
5. Increase funding for public health nursing/core public health functions.
6. No support for legal recognition of direct-entry midwives.

There is expected to be large political debates on the tobacco settlement and mental health and substance abuse parity this session.

On Thursday, January 20, the House State Government Subcommittee met to discuss House Study Bill 143. Rep. Clyde Bradley (R-Camanche) chaired the committee.

Groups expressing opposition to the bill were asked to make statements. This included the Iowa Association of Nurse Practitioners and the Iowa Medical Society. Questions were asked by legislators.

Others attending the meeting were asked to explain their position. Speaking in support of the Interstate Compact were representatives from the Iowa Nurses’ Association, Iowa Board of Nursing, Iowa Hospital Association, Grandview College and Indian Hills Community College.

The following organizations are neutral and monitoring the bill: Iowa Department of Public Health, Iowa Life and Health Insurance Association, Iowa Society of Nurse Anesthetists and Principal Financial Insurance. The Iowa Medical Society stated they are now neutral on the bill.

Contact your House legislators to urge them to support House Study Bill 143, the Interstate Compact for nursing licensure. It is anticipated to be taken up Tuesday morning, January 25.

Contact your Representative and Senator about the need to pass a mental health parity bill. It is expected that the House will first take up the bill to be introduced by Rep. Betty Grundberg (R-Des Moines). Her bill proposal is that submitted by the Iowa Life and Health Insurance Association as most acceptable to insurors. There is no bill number available yet.

Provisions of the Iowa Life and Health Insurance Association bill have limited coverage of serious mental illness, call for managed care, does not cover substance abuse, mandates coverage in large group insurance only and provides thirty days inpatient hospitalization and 52 outpatient visits.

The Governor is proposing a mental health and substance abuse parity bill which has additional categories of serious mental illness covered in addition to substance abuse. There is provision for managed care and the law would go into effect Jan 1, 2001 and sunset July 1, 2003. (The Governor wants there to be a trial period for coverage.)

More details about both bills will be forthcoming.

Iowa will hold contested caucuses for both parties for the first time in over a decade. National press coverage is picking up.

Speaker Siegrist talked to Dan Rather about why the rest of the country should pay attention to the Iowa caucuses --"an educated electorate, retail-style politics, and of course, tradition"--is the answer. Look for that on the CBS news, and look for other broadcasters to be in the Capitol over the next week.

The Legislature will not meet on Monday, January 24th, so legislators can attend their hometown caucuses. INA members need to be at the Iowa Caucuses as well!!!

BABY BLOOD TESTING-Senate File 2026: (Harper) Requires the Department of Public Health to determine the blood type of a newborn and put the blood type on the birth certificate. Allows parents to refuse such testing. Effective on enactment.

BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL (BAC) .08: HSB 528 (Judiciary) Lowers the blood alcohol level for OWI from .10 to .08. (Dept. Public Safety) Sukup (C), Shey, Kreiman

SF 2025 BAC LEVEL (Zieman) Makes a blood alcohol level of 0.08% the statutory level of intoxication for OWI offenses.

FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION -Senate File 2008: (Hammond and Szymoniak) This bill prohibits female genital mutilation of a female minor and is guilty of a class "C" felony for doing so.

GUARDIAN MEDICAL POWERS-Senate File 2007: (McKean) This bill provides that a guardian is not required to seek prior court approval in the instance in which anesthesia is used in providing the ward professional care, counseling, treatment, or services, if use of anesthesia is necessitated by the physical or mental disability of the ward.

HOSPITAL TRUSTEE-COUNTY-House File 2020/Senate File 2009: (Grundberg/Szymoniak) This bill removes the prohibition against physicians serving as trustees on county public hospital boards and makes a conforming change relating to the pecuniary interest of a physician in the purchase or sale of commodities or supplies related to a county hospital.

HSB 526 TOBACCO PRODUCTS (Judiciary) Prohibits the sale, possession, distribution, and transportation of cigarettes or tobacco products if they were made for the export outside the U.S. or have been exported and re-imported into the U.S. (AG) Thomson (C), Davis, Shoultz.