Yesterday, Iowa Governor Chet Culver said he wanted universal health coverage for state residents. Governor Culver sees the insurance mandate for Massachusetts residents as a good model.
But Culver’s approach to universal coverage would be more gradual, reported the Des Moines Register.
“[A health insurance mandate] might be part of the long-term plan to get us to 100 percent [coverage]. But right now, we’ve looked at a few easy steps to take that we thought, we believe, there could be quite a bit of consensus on, ” said Governor Culver.
His proposal includes four preliminary rules to insure more residents in Iowa.
The first would require all applicants who would be accepted in a group plan also are accepted in an individual policy, regardless of pre-existing health conditions. Another allows young adults to stay on their parents’ policy until age 25. The third would cap the amount insurance companies could raise premiums by 12 percent each year.
The final rule would create a plan to implement a state-wide electronic medical records system. Already, a $17 million grant has been given to the Iowa Hospital Association and Iowa Health Systems to help make the move.
But some Democrats in the state Senate say Culver’s plan is lacking.
“The governor is not proposing a comprehensive plan, actually. This is nothing, ” said state Senator Jack Hatch.
Many Democrats in the state Senate want to provide health insurance for all children.
Roughly 25,000 children in Iowa qualify for state health care programs but are not enrolled. Senator Hatch proposed a plan that would include $20 million specifically intended to reach out to get eligible children covered.
Even with a more ambitious approach to health care, state legislators are still up for working together with Governor Culver.
“I think it would be great if we could say we’re the first state in the union to cover every kid. So we’re going to work on that, and we’re going to work with the governor as well, ” said state Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal.