Republican majorities in both the Iowa House and Senate are invincible, all-powerful and unsinkable. Sort of like the Titanic.
At least that’s what Republicans seem to believe. Otherwise, why would Senate Republicans refuse to hold a meeting of the Government Oversight Committee to investigate horrific stories of death, abuse and neglect coming from Iowa’s nursing homes and other long-term care facilities?
The answer is it might make Gov. Kim Reynolds’ administration look inept. Heaven forbid the safety of older Iowans ruin the governor’s image.
We know these stories thanks to the Iowa Capital Dispatch’s Clark Kauffman, who has doggedly dug into the details. He’s written about two women who wandered away from Iowa care facilities and froze to death, a West Des Moines center where a resident had to have her foot amputated due to lack of care and another where a resident was tied up in her wheelchair.
Kauffman also reported on the fact that some care facilities are waiting as long as 41 months for an “annual” inspection. Federal rules allow no more than 15.9 months between annual inspections. But in Iowa, between October 2022 and September, the gap between inspections of 150 facilities was 16 months or longer.
So Senate Democrats asked the Republican majority to call a meeting of the Government Oversight Committee to delve into these issues. But the committee’s Republican chair, Senate President Amy Sinclair immediately shot down the idea.
Why? Sinclair argued a meeting wouldn’t be held “because it would distract department staff from performing their important work monitoring these facilities.” Also, a dog ate their homework.
The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing handed out more than 2,800 citations during the last 12 months, Sinclair said. And that’s a sign the system is working?
She also pointed out that Republicans have thrown money at the problem, with $75 million spent since 2017 on care and $111 million on high-quality care incentives. But how is all this money being spent by nursing home operators? Sounds like a great question for the Oversight Committee to ask.
Between 2021 and this year, the Iowa Health PAC, “the political action committee for Iowa’s long-term care profession,” contributed to lawmakers of both parties, according to campaign finance disclosures. But it gave nearly a third of its contributions, more than $170,000, to top Republican leaders in the Senate and House and to Reynolds. House Speaker Pat Grassley alone received $75,000 while Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver received $45,000. Sinclair got $9,500.
So. oddly, Republicans are eager to give the industry money, but are far less eager to find out why care isn’t improving. Reynolds was among 15 red state governors who sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services opposing proposed nursing home staffing rules that would increase daily visits care for residents. The governors call it “unnecessary.”
The Senate Government Oversight Committee held no substantive meetings in 2022 or this year. The House Oversight Committee spent its time during the last session holding hearings on book bans and gender-affirming care for minors. Why address real problems when you can invent some for political gain?
Contrast this with when the GOP majority was shiny and new. In 2017, the Senate and House met jointly to address problems in Iowa’s Foster care system. The high-profile deaths of two foster children and the abuse of others compelled them to act.
Now an entrenched, calcified majority doesn’t care about oversight or seemingly any Iowans who can’t donate six figures. Your concerns do not matter. They can do unpopular things and still win elections.
But could there be icebergs, dead ahead?
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At least that’s what Republicans seem to believe. Otherwise, why would Senate Republicans refuse to hold a meeting of the Government Oversight Committee to investigate horrific stories of death, abuse and neglect coming from Iowa’s nursing homes and other long-term care facilities?
The answer is it might make Gov. Kim Reynolds’ administration look inept. Heaven forbid the safety of older Iowans ruin the governor’s image.
We know these stories thanks to the Iowa Capital Dispatch’s Clark Kauffman, who has doggedly dug into the details. He’s written about two women who wandered away from Iowa care facilities and froze to death, a West Des Moines center where a resident had to have her foot amputated due to lack of care and another where a resident was tied up in her wheelchair.
Kauffman also reported on the fact that some care facilities are waiting as long as 41 months for an “annual” inspection. Federal rules allow no more than 15.9 months between annual inspections. But in Iowa, between October 2022 and September, the gap between inspections of 150 facilities was 16 months or longer.
So Senate Democrats asked the Republican majority to call a meeting of the Government Oversight Committee to delve into these issues. But the committee’s Republican chair, Senate President Amy Sinclair immediately shot down the idea.
Why? Sinclair argued a meeting wouldn’t be held “because it would distract department staff from performing their important work monitoring these facilities.” Also, a dog ate their homework.
The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing handed out more than 2,800 citations during the last 12 months, Sinclair said. And that’s a sign the system is working?
She also pointed out that Republicans have thrown money at the problem, with $75 million spent since 2017 on care and $111 million on high-quality care incentives. But how is all this money being spent by nursing home operators? Sounds like a great question for the Oversight Committee to ask.
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Between 2021 and this year, the Iowa Health PAC, “the political action committee for Iowa’s long-term care profession,” contributed to lawmakers of both parties, according to campaign finance disclosures. But it gave nearly a third of its contributions, more than $170,000, to top Republican leaders in the Senate and House and to Reynolds. House Speaker Pat Grassley alone received $75,000 while Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver received $45,000. Sinclair got $9,500.
So. oddly, Republicans are eager to give the industry money, but are far less eager to find out why care isn’t improving. Reynolds was among 15 red state governors who sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services opposing proposed nursing home staffing rules that would increase daily visits care for residents. The governors call it “unnecessary.”
The Senate Government Oversight Committee held no substantive meetings in 2022 or this year. The House Oversight Committee spent its time during the last session holding hearings on book bans and gender-affirming care for minors. Why address real problems when you can invent some for political gain?
Contrast this with when the GOP majority was shiny and new. In 2017, the Senate and House met jointly to address problems in Iowa’s Foster care system. The high-profile deaths of two foster children and the abuse of others compelled them to act.
Now an entrenched, calcified majority doesn’t care about oversight or seemingly any Iowans who can’t donate six figures. Your concerns do not matter. They can do unpopular things and still win elections.
But could there be icebergs, dead ahead?
Opinion: Legislative oversight is dead in Iowa. Refusing to address nursing homes proves it
(The Gazette) Republican majorities in both the Iowa House and Senate are invincible, all-powerful and unsinkable. Sort of like the …
www.thegazette.com
