Gazette Daily News Podcast: Wednesday, January 17, 2024

– Iowa's Chuck Grassley hospitalized, being treated for infection

– Iowa lawmakers advance bill to add raw cannabis flower to medical program

– With Iowa losing pharmacies, lawmakers advance new rules

Episode Transcript

You are listening to The Gazette’s Daily News Podcast on Wednesday, January 17. This podcast gives quick bites from the latest headlines coming out of The Gazette newsroom. I’m Bailey Cichon.

Iowa U. S. Senator Chuck Grassley has been hospitalized to treat an infection, according to a news release from his office. The 90-year-old Senator is receiving antibiotic infusions for an unspecified infection. He is being treated at a hospital in the Washington, D.C., area. A spokesman for his office said Grassley quote “is in good spirits” end quote. He is expected to make a full recovery. Grassley has represented Iowa in the U.S. senate since 1981. In 2022, he was reelected to his eighth, six-year term.

Now let’s take a look at some bill advancements from the Iowa legislature.

Iowa lawmakers advanced a bill that would allow raw cannabis flower to be bought by medical marijuana patients at the state’s five dispensaries. Currently, vaporized dried raw cannabis is allowed by state regulators. The state Medical Cannabidiol Board allows the sale of tablets, capsules, topical products and products that vaporize cannabis oil. The board denied a petition to add flower to the list of available products earlier this year, citing concerns about introducing smoking, the rise of telehealth certifications for the program and an inaccuracy in dosing. Iowa’s medical cannabis companies say allowing the sale of cannabis flower would lower prices and attract new patients. Iowa has over 18,000 medical cannabis cardholders according to a December report from the Department of Health and Human services. The bill advanced out of a subcommittee Tuesday but lawmakers said they want more information and predict a quote ‘spirited conversation’ end quote about the proposal.

Another bill that advanced Tuesday aims to reduce prescription drugs costs. How? By strengthening requirements for pharmacy benefit managers. Pharmacy benefit managers or PBMS are the companies that are the link between insurance providers and drug manufacturers. The bill would require PBMS to use the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost when determining the price of reimbursement to pharmacies for dispensing medications. Pharmacists say they’re selling common, brand-name prescriptions at a loss because PBMS reimburse them less than the pharmacy’s cost to acquire the drug. This has led to pharmacies closing across Iowa–nearly 100 Iowa pharmacies have closed since 2008 according to a recent study. Supporters of the bill say using the national average would standardize the information PBMS and the Iowa Insurance Division use when looking at drug costs. You can read the full story by Tom Barton at The Gazette dot com. Find a link to that story in this episode’s description.

Finally, a look at today’s weather in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Today will be cloudy with a high of 16 degrees and a low of two degrees. Tomorrow, expect cloudy skies and a high of 12 degrees. Temperatures are predicted to reach a low of zero.

Thank you for listening to The Gazette’s Daily News Podcast. Stay up date with the latest news from Eastern Iowa at the gazette dot com. I’m Bailey Cichon.

Comments: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com