Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed two healthcare bills into law May 28 at Guthrie County Hospital, a critical access hospital in Guthrie Center, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported May 28.
Here are four things to know:
1. House File 972 instructs Iowa’s Department of Health and Human Services to request CMS approval to establish a hub-and-spoke partnership funding model designed to improve healthcare in rural areas and support collaboration among regional providers.
2. The law consolidates existing medical student loan repayment programs into a new Healthcare Professional Incentive Program, administered in coordination with the Iowa College Student Aid Commission. It provides loan repayment or income bonuses to physicians, registered nurses and other healthcare professionals working in designated shortage areas.
3. The law also directs Iowa’s health department to draw down $150 million in federal funding intended to help Iowa teaching hospitals create approximately 115 new residency slots, which Ms. Reynolds said will help Iowa retain more in-state physicians, the Capital Dispatch reported.
4. House File 310 broadens the definition of “healthcare provider.” The law increases legal protections for individuals working, volunteering or participating in educational instruction at hospitals, rural emergency hospitals or nursing facilities by making assault against them a Class D felony.
“Equally important to making our dedicated staff feel safe at work is successfully recruiting physicians and other healthcare providers to work in rural Iowa,” Christopher Stipe, CEO of Guthrie County Hospital, said in a May 28 speech during the signing. “It’s no secret there is a physician shortage and a nurse shortage, but let’s be honest: There is a shortage of qualified healthcare workers in nearly every field, and workforce shortages are often more severe in our smaller communities.”
