Iowa Republicans used to repeatedly declare, if elected, they would run state government like a business.
Now, they seem more interested in giving Iowans the business.
Which Iowans? I’m glad I asked.
Well, there are thousands of people across Iowa on waiting lists as they seek a waiver approving them for disability services, like respite care and special equipment. It could be five years before they are granted a waiver. Five years.
In 2016, the Branstad-Reynolds administration handed management of Iowa’s Medicaid program to private managed care companies. Advocates say Iowa went from a state-run system that funded services to a managed care system that had five-year waitlists.
And how about the Iowans who are living in nursing homes or have loved ones in facilities. It’s well known that Iowa facilities pay low wages and have high staff turnover. These realities affect the quality of care received by vulnerable Iowans. Low quality of care is spawning a litany of awful stories about residents being injured, or worse.
New federal rules are set to take effect, requiring residents to receive more daily care from staff, registered nurses and certified nurse’s aides. A registered nurse must be on premises 24 hours each day and facilities must come up with plans for retaining staff.
So, the new rules could address some quality-of-care concerns. But instead of helping homes get ready to comply with the rules, Gov. Kim Reynolds joined with 14 other GOP governors opposing the new rules.
“On Sept. 1, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed new regulations for long-term care facilities that impose unnecessary, one-size-fits-all staff requirements. If adopted, CMS’s proposed regulations will force many long-term care facilities in our communities to close, eroding access to health care for some of our most vulnerable citizens,” the governors wrote.
The nursing home industry couldn’t have said it better.
Then there are Iowans with kids attending small rural schools. Thanks to Reynolds’ and the Legislature’s Area Education Agency “reforms,” those districts must now pay more for AEA services and skip services they can no longer afford.
Leisa Breitfelder, the shared superintendent of North Linn and Central City school districts, told The Gazette’s Grace King her districts can no longer afford AEA services supporting science and social studies. Meanwhile, large districts are paying less. The pooling of funds by all districts to provide more equitable funding has been drained.
Don’t forget the Iowans who showed up for a day at the beach in a state park this summer and encountered swim advisories or closures due to bacteria and algae toxins. Or they found the state park in disrepair, due to tens of millions of dollars’ worth of needed repairs, deferred maintenance and accessibility issues the state is doing little to fix.
There are the rangers booted from park housing. And fish hatchery employees who must leave housing by 2029.
People are fed up with farm fertilizer fouling local waterways. Iowa’s promise to reduce fertilizer runoff spawning the gulf “dead zone” rings hollow to many Iowans.
Some private wells are contaminated. Studies are connecting long-term, low-level nitrate exposure to certain forms of cancer.
Why is Iowa’s cancer rate high and growing? People want to know what can be done.
Of course, there are a lot of others who are being harmed by state government under current management — women who need abortion care, transgender kids who want to be safe in school, history teachers who want to teach real history and Iowans who believe banning books in school libraries is un-American.
But the examples above show a fundamental lack of governing competency. That used to mean something to voters.
It seems Republicans now regard governing as that thing they do in between culture war crusades. Problems fester for lack of meaningful legislative action.
If state government were running like a business, that business would be money laundering.
We pay our taxes, hoping money will go toward improving public schools, environmental protection, state parks and universities.
Instead, Reynolds and Republican lawmakers take out money and squirrel away $1 billion or more each year so it can be used to cover budget holes blown by wave after wave of tax cuts. The cuts are most beneficial for Iowans who drive cars costing more than my salary.
Also, a chunk of public money that could help public schools most kids attend is, instead, being handed over to families sending kids to private school.
So, if you’re a hog baron, nursing home owner or book banner, this management style works well. Voters must like it because they keep giving Republicans more and more power.
There’s an election coming up. Maybe Iowans will get down to business and vote for change.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
www.thegazette.com
Now, they seem more interested in giving Iowans the business.
Which Iowans? I’m glad I asked.
Well, there are thousands of people across Iowa on waiting lists as they seek a waiver approving them for disability services, like respite care and special equipment. It could be five years before they are granted a waiver. Five years.
In 2016, the Branstad-Reynolds administration handed management of Iowa’s Medicaid program to private managed care companies. Advocates say Iowa went from a state-run system that funded services to a managed care system that had five-year waitlists.
And how about the Iowans who are living in nursing homes or have loved ones in facilities. It’s well known that Iowa facilities pay low wages and have high staff turnover. These realities affect the quality of care received by vulnerable Iowans. Low quality of care is spawning a litany of awful stories about residents being injured, or worse.
New federal rules are set to take effect, requiring residents to receive more daily care from staff, registered nurses and certified nurse’s aides. A registered nurse must be on premises 24 hours each day and facilities must come up with plans for retaining staff.
So, the new rules could address some quality-of-care concerns. But instead of helping homes get ready to comply with the rules, Gov. Kim Reynolds joined with 14 other GOP governors opposing the new rules.
“On Sept. 1, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed new regulations for long-term care facilities that impose unnecessary, one-size-fits-all staff requirements. If adopted, CMS’s proposed regulations will force many long-term care facilities in our communities to close, eroding access to health care for some of our most vulnerable citizens,” the governors wrote.
The nursing home industry couldn’t have said it better.
Then there are Iowans with kids attending small rural schools. Thanks to Reynolds’ and the Legislature’s Area Education Agency “reforms,” those districts must now pay more for AEA services and skip services they can no longer afford.
Leisa Breitfelder, the shared superintendent of North Linn and Central City school districts, told The Gazette’s Grace King her districts can no longer afford AEA services supporting science and social studies. Meanwhile, large districts are paying less. The pooling of funds by all districts to provide more equitable funding has been drained.
Don’t forget the Iowans who showed up for a day at the beach in a state park this summer and encountered swim advisories or closures due to bacteria and algae toxins. Or they found the state park in disrepair, due to tens of millions of dollars’ worth of needed repairs, deferred maintenance and accessibility issues the state is doing little to fix.
There are the rangers booted from park housing. And fish hatchery employees who must leave housing by 2029.
People are fed up with farm fertilizer fouling local waterways. Iowa’s promise to reduce fertilizer runoff spawning the gulf “dead zone” rings hollow to many Iowans.
Some private wells are contaminated. Studies are connecting long-term, low-level nitrate exposure to certain forms of cancer.
Why is Iowa’s cancer rate high and growing? People want to know what can be done.
Of course, there are a lot of others who are being harmed by state government under current management — women who need abortion care, transgender kids who want to be safe in school, history teachers who want to teach real history and Iowans who believe banning books in school libraries is un-American.
But the examples above show a fundamental lack of governing competency. That used to mean something to voters.
It seems Republicans now regard governing as that thing they do in between culture war crusades. Problems fester for lack of meaningful legislative action.
If state government were running like a business, that business would be money laundering.
We pay our taxes, hoping money will go toward improving public schools, environmental protection, state parks and universities.
Instead, Reynolds and Republican lawmakers take out money and squirrel away $1 billion or more each year so it can be used to cover budget holes blown by wave after wave of tax cuts. The cuts are most beneficial for Iowans who drive cars costing more than my salary.
Also, a chunk of public money that could help public schools most kids attend is, instead, being handed over to families sending kids to private school.
So, if you’re a hog baron, nursing home owner or book banner, this management style works well. Voters must like it because they keep giving Republicans more and more power.
There’s an election coming up. Maybe Iowans will get down to business and vote for change.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
Opinion: Does competence still mean something to Iowa voters?
Republicans running the state have harmed a lot of Iowans.
www.thegazette.com
