On Monday, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law a piece of legislation that will allow Iowans the ability to form their own smaller groups for the purpose of purchasing health insurance coverage outside of the regulations of the Affordable Care Act. One part of the bill allows small business owners and entrepreneurs to band together to purchase group insurance. The other portion gives residents the ability to join Farm Bureau and obtain coverage under a Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield policy. Democratic candidate for District 12 House of Representatives, Peter Leo, says this portion of the legislation is completely unregulated.
This contract of adhesion, Leo says, means the consumer has no bargaining power in the partnership. They either accept or decline what is offered, and it is this lack of state oversight and consumer protection that is a problem for Leo.
The healthcare bill gives Wellmark the ability to review applicants’ preexisting conditions and to either approve, deny or limit coverage. Leo says this is discrimination.
Leo understands that healthcare is one of the main drivers of economic insecurity people face as he and his family purchase their healthcare from the Affordable Care Exchange. That system works for many, but Leo also has ideas on how the benefits could be broadened by doing away with the means testing or making the subsidies more generous. He does not believe that our current leaders want to make changes, and says this type of legislation is just another way Congress is attempting to kill the Affordable Care Act through “death by a thousand cuts.” He offers the solution of a public option, provided by the state, that changes Medicaid qualification rules.
It would have been more responsible for our state government to find revenue before passing a piece of legislation in one month in what his opponent, Representative Brian Best calls “triage,” Leo says. And on the federal level, he believes we need to put things such as one and a half trillion dollars in tax cuts on the back burner while we figure out how to get healthcare to people that need it. Anyone who has questions of Leo on this topic or any other, can reach out to him personally through the contact points below.
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Contact Peter Leo:
Email: peopleforpeter@gmail.com
Phone: 712-577-3038
