State Representative Roger Thomas: Iowa should extend Medicare coverage to 150,000 more Iowans

State Representative Roger Thomas is praising the action of the Iowa State Senate late last week to pass a bill to expand access to affordable health care for an estimated 150,000 Iowans who don't have health insurance. 

The bill has been opposed by Governor Terry Branstad, but In a move to find common ground with the governor, the bill passed by the Iowa Senate included language that would allow Iowa to opt out of the program if the federal government does not fulfill its promise on funding.

Says Thomas, "Despite strong public support for the Medicaid expansion, the Governor has introduced a separate plan that costs Iowa taxpayers $163 million more, covers fewer people, and provides less accessibility to care.  Details of the plan are still unknown and the federal government has not said if it will approve the Governor's plan."

The Iowa Hospital Association has said that Iowa hospitals provide more than $600 million in uncompensated care, mainly from services provided to individuals who would qualify under the Medicaid expansion.  It's called a "hidden tax" because that uncompensated care is absorbed by Iowans and businesses with private health insurance through higher insurance premiums.