Capitol Notebook: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds urges Biden to end COVID public health emergency

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds joined 24 other Republican governors in calling on President Joe Biden to end the federal COVID-19 public health emergency.

The governors wrote in a letter to the White House that "the emergency phase of the pandemic is behind us" and "it is time we move on."

Biden told “60 minutes” in September that "the pandemic is over" and the U.S. Senate passed a resolution to end the national emergency in November. But COVID is spiking again ahead of the holidays, part of a "tridemic" with the flu and respiratory syncytial virus, also known as RSV, that is overwhelming hospitals and health workers across the state and nation.

“We have come so far since the beginning of the pandemic — we now have the tools and information necessary to help protect Iowans from COVID-19,” such as testing and vaccine, Reynolds said in a statement. “We have returned to life as normal, and it is time the federal government’s policies reflected that.”

Biden has extended the public health emergency until at least Jan. 11, and is expected to extend it again until April.

The governors argue that the national emergency is "costing states hundreds of millions of dollars" due to Medicaid requirements under the federal declaration, and urge Biden to let it expire in April — giving states several months to prepare for the end of the emergency.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the governors write, states have added 20 million people to Medicaid rolls, an increase of 30 percent.

Legislation passed by Congress legislation in 2020 included a requirement that Medicaid programs keep people continuously enrolled through the COVID-19 public health emergency, in exchange for enhanced federal funding. Primarily due to the continuous enrollment requirement, Medicaid enrollment has grown substantially compared with before the pandemic, and the uninsured rate has dropped. But, when the emergency ends, millions of people could lose coverage that could reverse recent gains, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

“While the enhanced federal match provides some assistance to blunt the increasing costs due to higher enrollment numbers in our Medicaid programs, states are required to increase our non-federal match to adequately cover all enrollees and cannot disenroll members from the program unless they do so voluntarily,” the governors wrote.

“Making the situation worse, we know that a considerable number of individuals have returned to employer-sponsored coverage or are receiving coverage through the individual market, and yet states still must still account and pay for their Medicaid enrollment in our non-federal share.”

The full letter can be viewed at https://bit.ly/3jaltIR.

Iowa ag secretary names deputy

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig named Grant Menke as deputy secretary of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

Menke, who served as vice president of market development with the Iowa Corn Growers Association and Iowa Corn Promotion Board, succeeds Julie Kenney, who is leaving the department for a new opportunity after serving five years as deputy, according to a news release.

Menke also previously worked as the state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development and as the policy director for the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association and held a position on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee staff of Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley.

Menke starts as deputy secretary on Jan. 6, according to the release.

Reynolds announces 2023 inaugural charities

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will be sworn in to another full term Jan. 13. Following the swearing in, the governor will host her inaugural ball at the Community Choice Convention Center in Des Moines.

Proceeds will be donated to the following charities:

More details about. Reynolds’ inauguration can be found at reynoldsgregg.com.