(Des Moines) Iowa House District #23 Representative Ray Sorensen of Greenfield says Friday is the first Funnel Week, and the deadline means it is do or die for bills that haven’t passed out of a committee.
Meanwhile, Sorensen says state revenue rose in January, a surprising result after a full year of income tax reductions, not to mention two blizzards keeping Iowans indoors for a good chunk of the month.
Sorensen says that through the first seven months of the fiscal year, net General Fund receipts are 2.1 percent higher than in Fiscal Year 2023, according to the monthly revenue analysis from the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency. This figure is ahead of the latest forecast from the Revenue Estimating Conference. Last December, the three-member panel projected state revenue would decline by 1.3 percent for the fiscal year.
Additionally, Sorensen says this week, the House Commerce Committee unanimously passed House Study Bill 640 related to Pharmacy Benefit Managers. PBMs are the entity between health insurers and drug manufacturers who process prescription medication claims on the insurer’s or employer’s behalf. This bill prohibits discrimination by PBMs against pharmacies, requires profits from spread-pricing to go back to the employer/insurer, and requires an appeals process for pharmacies that cannot acquire drugs at the reimbursement rate from the PBM.
