Articles Tagged: Kim Reynolds

Pharmacy benefit managers — or PBMs — will face new restrictions designed to constrain prescription drug costs and protect rural pharmacies under legislation signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley, a fellow Republican, has asked state lawmakers to sign a petition calling for a special legislative session to override the governor’s veto

The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa filed a complaint Tuesday with the Iowa Office of Civil Rights on behalf of The Satanic Temple Iowa over state officials’ denial of a 2024 winter display and celebration in the Capitol rotunda.

Fifty-six million dollars in opioid settlement funds will be distributed after Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday signed into law legislation that outlines how the money will be spent, along with 24 other bills.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said work requirements are needed to focus Medicaid on those truly in need. A nonpartisan analysis by the state’s Legislative Services Agency projects 32,000 eligible Iowans could lose coverage under the new law.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ task force on government efficiency has floated the idea of consolidating some of Iowa’s 99 counties, and when asked about the possibility on Friday, Reynolds did not rule it out.

All forms of cancer will be covered by firefighters’ and other first responders’ disability insurance coverage — rather than only the 14 forms previously covered — under legislation signed into law Friday by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Iowa businesses will see a $1.2 billion reduction in unemployment insurance taxes over the next five years under legislation signed by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday.

The Iowa DOGE Task Force also discussed possible education recommendations, including making portions of teacher pay merit-based, and consolidating rural school districts as populations in the least-populated areas of Iowa continue to decline.

In other Iowa Capitol news, the state’s new unemployment system went live Tuesday

Iowa poll workers will be allowed to challenge a voter at the polls on the basis of their citizenship status under new legislation signed into law Monday by Gov. Kim Reynolds. The new laws also make changes to election recount procedures in the state, ban ranked choice voting and make it harder for third-party groups such as Libertarians to qualify as a major political party in the state.

Also in the Capitol Notebook, a new warden has been named for Iowa State Penitentiary.

The Gazette explores which issues went unresolved by state lawmakers this year that they likely will face again next year.

Health care organizations want Gov. Kim Reynolds to sign a recently-passed PBM bill into law, saying it will protect pharmacies; business groups want her to veto it, saying it will raise health care costs.

As the country grapples with a health care workforce shortage, health care facilities across Iowa, especially in rural areas, will see some assistance under legislation signed Wednesday by Gov. Kim Reynolds.