Taking a cue from last year’s Legislature, which tied its full Board of Regents funding increase to specific campus initiatives, Iowa’s public universities for the upcoming session have made significant “special purpose” funding requests — on top of their ask for $14.8 million more in “general” appropriations.
In total, the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and University of Northern Iowa are seeking $23.5 million more for “special” projects and initiatives in the 2025 budget year that starts July 1. And UI’s $10 million portion of that ask will only start what the campus envisions as a five-year, $50 million “rural Iowa health care partnership.”
“To begin this work, an investment of $10 million is requested with an additional $10 million requested each subsequent year for a total recurring appropriation after five years of $50 million,” according to the 2025 appropriations request Iowa’s Board of Regents will consider approving next week.
When combined with the regents’ request for $14.8 million more in “general” appropriations, the board’s full ask amounts to a $38.3 million bump over this year — for total education appropriations of $599 million in fiscal 2025. The board last year wanted a total increase of $34.7 million — with the vast majority sought in the form of general dollars the universities could use broadly toward their campus missions and operations.
But lawmakers gave them no general funding increase and instead tied all $7.1 million in new regent appropriations to specific initiatives: $2.8 million to UI’s College of Nursing; $2.8 million to Iowa State’s Future Ready Workforce Program; and $1.5 million to UNI’s Educators for Iowa Program.
Although UI officials have asked for $4.5 million in 2025 to “keep tuition affordable,” improve student success, support online offerings, provide career training for working professionals, and maintain competitive compensation, it wants more than twice that to kick-start a new “Rural Health Care Partnership.”
That partnership would serve a trifold mission:
“Our goal is to improve health care outcomes for Iowans, especially rural Iowans who may be struggling to find specialized care due to a lack of providers and facilities,” UI President Barbara Wilson said in a statement. “With additional state funding, the University of Iowa can leverage its expertise to help address these challenges.”
UI Health Care for years has been expanding across the state, including through clinics in rural counties. Only 47 percent of UIHC’s emergency room visits in 2022 came from Johnson County, where its main ER is located, with the rest arriving from across the state and even out of the state — including rural counties like Lee, Iowa, Cedar, Wapello, and Van Buren, according to Board of Regents documents.
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The goal of the new partnership, in part, is to support better statewide health care and improve health outcomes by expanding services in the communities where Iowans live — especially given Iowa’s aging population, which has increased over the years.
About 18 percent of Iowa’s 3.2 million people in 2020 were 65 or older, with a 2022 median age of nearly 39 — ranking it among the “oldest” states in the nation.
“Rural health in Iowa is facing a crucial moment with low reimbursement rates, workforce challenges, and a rapidly aging population all combining to make delivery of high quality, accessible health care in Iowa’s rural communities more challenging than ever,” according to UI’s appropriations request. “UI has the resources and health care expertise to help address these challenges.”
The “dynamic and sustainable” state-UI partnership would focus specifically on the areas of mental health, maternal health, primary care, and substance abuse.
Should UI get the full $50 million in state support, the work would breakdown like this:
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In total, the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and University of Northern Iowa are seeking $23.5 million more for “special” projects and initiatives in the 2025 budget year that starts July 1. And UI’s $10 million portion of that ask will only start what the campus envisions as a five-year, $50 million “rural Iowa health care partnership.”
“To begin this work, an investment of $10 million is requested with an additional $10 million requested each subsequent year for a total recurring appropriation after five years of $50 million,” according to the 2025 appropriations request Iowa’s Board of Regents will consider approving next week.
When combined with the regents’ request for $14.8 million more in “general” appropriations, the board’s full ask amounts to a $38.3 million bump over this year — for total education appropriations of $599 million in fiscal 2025. The board last year wanted a total increase of $34.7 million — with the vast majority sought in the form of general dollars the universities could use broadly toward their campus missions and operations.
But lawmakers gave them no general funding increase and instead tied all $7.1 million in new regent appropriations to specific initiatives: $2.8 million to UI’s College of Nursing; $2.8 million to Iowa State’s Future Ready Workforce Program; and $1.5 million to UNI’s Educators for Iowa Program.
UI would focus on mental, maternal health and substance abuse
Although UI officials have asked for $4.5 million in 2025 to “keep tuition affordable,” improve student success, support online offerings, provide career training for working professionals, and maintain competitive compensation, it wants more than twice that to kick-start a new “Rural Health Care Partnership.”
That partnership would serve a trifold mission:
- Expand access to screening, medical testing, and training statewide;
- Create incentives to recruit and retain health care workers across Iowa;
- Expand telehealth within Iowa’s many rural communities.
“Our goal is to improve health care outcomes for Iowans, especially rural Iowans who may be struggling to find specialized care due to a lack of providers and facilities,” UI President Barbara Wilson said in a statement. “With additional state funding, the University of Iowa can leverage its expertise to help address these challenges.”
UI Health Care for years has been expanding across the state, including through clinics in rural counties. Only 47 percent of UIHC’s emergency room visits in 2022 came from Johnson County, where its main ER is located, with the rest arriving from across the state and even out of the state — including rural counties like Lee, Iowa, Cedar, Wapello, and Van Buren, according to Board of Regents documents.
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The goal of the new partnership, in part, is to support better statewide health care and improve health outcomes by expanding services in the communities where Iowans live — especially given Iowa’s aging population, which has increased over the years.
About 18 percent of Iowa’s 3.2 million people in 2020 were 65 or older, with a 2022 median age of nearly 39 — ranking it among the “oldest” states in the nation.
“Rural health in Iowa is facing a crucial moment with low reimbursement rates, workforce challenges, and a rapidly aging population all combining to make delivery of high quality, accessible health care in Iowa’s rural communities more challenging than ever,” according to UI’s appropriations request. “UI has the resources and health care expertise to help address these challenges.”
The “dynamic and sustainable” state-UI partnership would focus specifically on the areas of mental health, maternal health, primary care, and substance abuse.
- With 89 of 99 Iowa counties reporting a health care professional shortage for mental health, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the university wants to use the state funding to graduate more advanced registered nurse practitioners and mental health counselors.
- With 52 Iowa counties designated short for primary care, and 31 counties having lost their birthing centers, the university aims to train more registered nurses and provide training in pregnancy-related emergencies with the new funding.
- And given alcohol, opioid, and methamphetamine-related deaths jumped 30 percent over the last three years — compounded by mental health challenges — UI plans to use state funding to “provide training and telehealth consultation to primary care physicians and nurse practitioners on treatment of coexisting substance use and mental disorders, support the recovery of 3,000 Iowans, and develop a statewide opioid overdose dashboard.”
Should UI get the full $50 million in state support, the work would breakdown like this:
- Years one and two (and continuing) will focus on building the health care workforce pipeline and increasing access to screening and training.
- Years three and four (and continuing) will focus on developing and deploying telehealth opportunities in specific rural communities.
- Years four and five (and continuing) will focus on implementing incentives to recruit and retain workers throughout Iowa.
UI wants $50M from state to improve rural health care
Taking a cue from last year’s Legislature, Iowa’s public universities for the upcoming session have made significant “special purpose” funding requests that would focus on rural health care, rural development and teacher recruitment.
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