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February 7, 2020

This week continued to be busy with subcommittee and committee work while numerous bills continue to be filed. We expect the next two weeks to be dense with subcommittee and committee work, while legislators and advocates rush to meet the first funnel deadline on February 21. The Senate debated a handful of bills Thursday. Over the next two weeks, floor debate will be limited, but after the first funnel floor debate will increase substantially. 

Drug pricing transparency legislation is heating up, with a Senate Commerce bill draft which will be filed by Senator Dawson (R-Council Bluffs) being circulated and a different House bill, HF2253, was filed this week by Representative Lundgren (R-Peosta). HF2253 was referred to the Commerce Committee, and we expect Rep. Lundgren to be assigned the bill, because she also sits on House Commerce. 

The Senate draft is an extensive bill, with a very low threshold to trigger extensive reporting requirements within sixty days of a cost increase greater than the Consumer Price Index for existing drugs that cost $100 for a thirty-day supply/course of treatment. It also contains separate reporting thresholds and requirements for new drugs and newly acquired drugs. The bill would go into effect for existing drugs July 1, 2021 and new or newly acquired drugs July 1, 2021. The insurance commissioner would be required to post all non-proprietary information on a public website. 

The House bill is somewhat less onerous and looks like legislation passed in Texas. The bill has higher thresholds for triggering reporting and has language recognizing health plans as part of the supply chain. 

These bills do not contain any measures to lower costs for consumers. IowaBio is registered against these bills, health insurers and MCOs support the legislation. For bill summaries contact Jessica at jessica@iowabio.org. We will continue to keep you informed on the progress of this legislation.

Activity increased this week on anti-vaccine legislation, with a bill advancing out of a House subcommittee Wednesday. HF2139, introduced by Rep. Jeff Shipley, (R-Fairfield), requires that “any information or communication” shared by a school official regarding immunization must also include details about Iowa’s religious vaccine exemptions.  The bill will now move to Human Resources full committee. A House subcommittee on HF 2141 which would require the Department of Public Health to provide information on federal law was held Thursday.  Informed Choice Iowa, an anti-vaccine group, had “concerned citizens” attending both subcommittees in support of the bills. Representative Tom Moore (R-Griswold) asked for a side-by-side of the bill and the educational information the Iowa Department of Public Health currently distributes, to determine how to possibly amend the bill.

A slew of Senate bills regarding vaccination were also filed this week, all of which were sponsored by Senator Guth (R-Klemme) and sometimes with other co-sponsors. 

  • SF 2174: A bill for the act relating to the administration of vaccines in schools. Subcommittee: Guth, Garrett, and J. Smith. S.J. 240.
  • SF 2173:  A bill for an act relating to immunization status requirements for a foster home. Referred to HR. 
  • SF 2172: A bill for an act relating to immunization information requested on an infant certificate of death form. Referred to HR.
  • SF 2171: A bill for an act related to the administration of Hepatis B vaccine to newborns. Referred to HR.
  • SF 2170: A bill for an act relating to information to be provided, recorded, and reported by health care providers relative to certain vaccinations, and providing penalties. Referred to HR.
  • SF 2169: A bill for an act prohibiting the use of financial incentives or penalties relative to vaccine administration. Referred to HR.

Non-medical switching legislation HF2089 IowaBio supports advanced out of a House subcommittee this week. There were several patient advocate groups there advocating for the bill, as well as the expected opposition from the insurance lobby. All three members of the committee signed to move the bill forward for consideration by the full House Human Resources committee. The Senate bill, SSB3117, was also filed this week. 

The biofuels tax differential bill HSB562 that will increase the use of E-15 that IowaBio supports passed out of subcommittee and the full House Ways and Means committee this week. It is now eligible for floor debate in the House.

Future Ready Iowa bills IowaBio supports Bills in both the House and Senate moved this week. The bills, HSB607 and SSB3077 are initiatives of the Governor that make some changes to the existing Act and builds on programs already in place. The bills contain changes to computer science, apprenticeships, child care, workforce, and last dollar scholarships. The bills now move to the full Commerce Committees.

In other IowaBio news, Governor Kim Reynolds has been confirmed to speak at our Partnering for Growth Conference March 10-11 in Ankeny. We will also feature a federal and state policy update, and a networking reception to which legislators and others are invited. Click here to see the agenda. Please, register here today to attend!

A huge story of the week, was the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucuses. Trump overwhelmingly won the Republican nomination without a hitch. Despite major difficulties in data reporting due in part to a failed software application used for the Democratic caucus reporting, some surprising caucus results are positive for some Democrat candidates and shocking for others. As of Thursday night, the Iowa Democratic Party said all 100 percent of 1765 precincts have finally reported. The results show a near tie between Buttigeig, who appears to have barely edged out Bernie Sanders for the win by two delegate equivalents—a margin of only 0.09 percent. The AP would not declare a winner, citing “irregularities” and the razor thin margin. The third-place candidate is Elizabeth Warren who was followed by Biden. The results were a “gut punch” to Biden, but created renewed momentum for “Mayor Pete”. Below is a chart reflecting the results.

View Bill Tracker Report
Please contact me directly with any questions and I would be happy to assist.

Sincerely,
Jessica

Jessica Hyland, J.D.
Executive Director
Iowa Biotechnology Association
Cell: (515) 822-1315
Office: (515) 327-9156
Fax: (515) 327-1407
jessica@iowabio.org
www.iowabio.org
Copyright © 2020 Iowa Biotechnology Association, All rights reserved.


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