(Griswold) Iowa House Representative Tom Moore’s Bill House File 13 passed unanimously. Representative Moore says the bill establishes licensure in Iowa for Rural Emergency Hospitals.
Moore says Federal law created this designation in 2020, allowing this new hospital designation to begin on January 1, 2023.
Moore says Rural Emergency Hospitals receive different reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid than other hospitals, based on federal law. This includes quarterly payments from CMS and an additional 5% increase in reimbursement for health care services.
Moore says two other proposed bills passed through committee. One of those bills revises the mental health loan forgiveness program established last year to add prescribing practitioners. It will provide preference to Iowans and those willing to serve in a mental health shortage area and appropriate $1.5 million in the 2024 fiscal year.
Moore says another House Study Bill (HSB25) was brought by the Iowa Board of Pharmacy as an annual bill to bring the Iowa Uniform Controlled Substances Act in line with the Code of Federal Regulations. This will move 11 new substances into the act and the placement of other substances into the hallucinogens section.
(Photo: from left to right: Chris Hinckley, son-in-law Brady Fritz, Representative Tom Moore)
