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House panel reviews Iowa governor’s health policy package
Some of Governor Reynolds’ health policy agenda is outlined in a bill that has cleared a House subcommittee.
The bill calls for Iowa doctors to complete an hour-long nutrition education course, and it would ban some food dyes and additives from school meals. Jon Murphy, a lobbyist for the Iowa Beverage Association, said the group opposes that. “All of the ingredients and dyes on this list have been approved by the FDA, and so there’s been rigorous scientific study done on all of these things,” Murphy said, “and so we don’t think that it’s appropriate to go through what the FDA has already done and say they got it wrong.”
The bill would require the state to keep applying for federal waivers in order to restrict food stamp purchases to healthy foods. Iowa currently bans using food assistance for taxable food items, like candy and soda. Marc Craig, who is homeless and receives SNAP benefits, told lawmakers the new rules are confusing. “I can go to Walmart and get a sub that has a mayo and mustard packet, but I can’t buy a ham and cheese sandwich at Hyvee, so to me, this is not attacking obesity,” Craig said. “I’m not obese because I want to eat unhealthily. It’s because my options are limited.”
The bill does not include the governor’s proposal to allow over-the-counter sales of contraceptives, but it would let Iowa pharmacies sell ivermectin to customers without a prescription. Representative Austin Baeth, a Democrat from Des Moines who is a doctor, said that’s a concerning part of the bill. “This is a very serious bill to help make Iowa healthier, and I’m not sure what ivermectin has to do with it,” Baeth said. “…There is no FDA-approved reason for ivermectin unless you have parasites, and I think giving the weight of the state government behind that drug to be used over the counter is misguided and is going to hurt a lot of people.”
The governor’s deputy chief of staff, the first to testify during the hearing, said Reynolds’ goal is to make all Iowans healthier.
A section of the bill that would have implemented the governor’s proposal to raise the state taxes on cigarettes and vaping products has been removed. House lawmakers say they intend to consider that proposal separately.
