Iowa governor stresses health coverage, wellness
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By Charlotte Eby | Wednesday, January 16, 2008 |
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver delivers his State of the State speech, to a joint session of lawmakers this morning at the Capitol in Des Moines. (AP Photo)
VIDEO: Culver's Condition of the State Speech
Before a joint session of the Iowa House and Senate, Gov. Chet Culver deliv…
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DES MOINES — Iowa Gov. Chet Culver used his annual condition of the state speech this morning to call for several measures that would make affordable health care easier to obtain and provide ways to promote wellness.
It was the first such speech for the first-term governor. The address is traditionally delivered the second day of the legislative session each January.
Culver, who emphasized health care issues during his 2006 campaign, used his address to argue Iowans should have access to the same type of care elected officials receive.
“Let’s take up the challenge of making health care affordable and accessible to all Iowans,” Culver said in prepared remarks.
A recent health care study commission led by lawmakers concluded the state should aim for universal coverage.
To meet a goal of covering more Iowans, the governor said the state should expand insurance pooling options for small businesses and associations in an effort to reduce group insurance rates. Culver also is calling for an expansion of health care coverage for children.
He said parents should be allowed to use their insurance to cover children up to the age of 25 on their family plans.
Culver, a former college football player and high school coach who has at times battled his weight, touched on the importance of wellness efforts and encouraged Iowans to join him in the Lighten Up Iowa Challenge.
“Whether it’s popular or not, the fact is, the best way to achieve affordable, accessible health care for all involves each of us taking responsibility for the quality of our own health,” he said.
Culver noted that one of the findings of a recent state commission studying health and wellness found that 50 percent of Iowa’s children are overweight and 20 percent of those children are morbidly obese.
He urged lawmakers this session to establish a minimum standard for physical activity in Iowa schools and for replacing unhealthy food and vending machine options in schools through a statewide effort.
Culver also pledged to sign a bill that would allow local governments to place restrictions on public smoking if lawmakers pass it.
Other highlights included more dollars for early detection of treatable illnesses and cancer screening.
Culver touched on challenges for the delivery of health care, too.
He announced he would form a task force to study the state’s nursing shortage and ways to raise salaries for nurses in Iowa, who rank 49th in the nation according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
“This is unacceptable and we need to do something about it now,” Culver said, announcing that Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, a former nurse, would lead the task force.
Culver, a Democrat, also used the speech to defend his party’s stewardship of the state’s finances. He argued that the budget passed by Democratic legislators that he signed last year was fiscally responsible and pointed to the close to $600 million in the state’s cash reserves, the largest in Iowa’s history. And he said he had asked state agency leaders to submit budget requests that limited spending increases.
Republican legislative leaders on Monday bashed Democrats for increasing spending last year to levels they said couldn’t be sustained, and argued that Democrats were headed toward raiding the state’s rainy day funds.
In his speech, Culver urged more civility and bipartisan cooperation, a day after GOP leaders opened the session with critical speeches.
“Let’s always remember what unites us, not what divides us,” Culver said. “My friends, civility works. People expect us to do our work and to get along. I stand ready to do my part.”
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
Other highlights from Iowa Gov. Chet Culver’s condition of the state speech:
Livestock confinement regulations
Culver sought to tackle one of the most controversial topics in Iowa’s countryside: the growth of large-scale livestock operations.
He called on Iowa lawmakers to find common ground on the regulation of where confined animal feeding operations can be located in an effort to protect Iowa waterways. He proposed a $1 million odor management program to improve air quality and wants a study by experts at Iowa State University.
Can and bottle deposit changes
Culver wants to revamp Iowa’s can and bottle deposit law, enacted 30 years ago to encourage recycling. He would expand the types of beverage containers that would be covered to include water, tea and sports drinks. His plan also would double the 5-cent deposit consumers pay when they purchase the drinks. When they return the containers for recycling, consumers would get back 8 cents of their 10-cent deposit. One penny would go to a state program used for environmental and conservation projects and another penny would go to retailers and redemption centers that take back containers. The governor estimates an additional 335 million containers would be covered.
New prison spending
Culver has set aside $250 million in his budget for new corrections spending including the replacement of the maximum security prison in Fort Madison, calling it first and foremost a matter of public safety. The prison, establish in 1839, saw two men serving life prison terms escape in 2005. Other prison facilities would be modernized under Culver’s budget, including prisons in Anamosa and Rockwell City and the women’s prison in Mitchellville. To reduce recidivism among offenders, Culver wants to invest more than ever before in substance abuse and mental health treatment.
Worker shortage
To ready Iowans for the work force, Culver is proposing an expansion of the All-Iowa Opportunity Scholarship for college students who need financial assistance and wants schools to adopt the state’s Model Core Curriculum across the state by 2010. He also wants to create a $5 million center at the University of Northern Iowa that focuses on science, technology, engineering and math education in an effort to double the number of math and science teachers in Iowa’s public schools.
REACTION TO IOWA GOV. CHET CULVER'S SPEECH
Rep. Linda Miller, R-Bettendorf:
“I think the extra two cents on the bottle bill — which is a tax increase — is going to be a fairly hard sell, because it is a tax increase.”
Rep. Polly Bukta, D-Clinton, on the proposed changes to the bottle bill:
“I don’t think it has too good of a chance of passing, really, just from the feel that I’m getting from people, that it’s asking too much, and the way it’s going to be divided. It’s the feeling I’m getting just from both parties. It’s not just a Republican-Democrat thing.”
Rep. Steve Olson, R-DeWitt:
“It appears to me that there are some very ambitious proposals laid out that are going to take a fair amount of money to fund.”
Rep. Jim Lykam, D-Davenport, on the proposal to expand the bottle bill:
“I think that might be a tough sell in an election year.”
Sen. David Hartsuch, R-Bettendorf:
“I’m concerned about the increased taxation embodied in his speech, and also the things which would adversely affect the business climate in the Quad-Cities.”
Sen. Jim Hahn, R-Muscatine:
“They’re all good ideas, but we’re in a spending bind here, and I don’t know if the governor realizes it.”
Rep. Nathan Reichert, D-Muscatine:
“Getting all the kids covered with health care — to me, I think that’s a huge priority. I think it’s something we need to do.”
Rep. Jeff Kaufmann, R-Wilton:
“I thought it was a well-delivered speech. I don’t doubt the governor’s sincerity. I do doubt that some of the initiatives are in line with where Iowans want to go.”
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