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Republican Governor Kim Reynolds signed a provision into law last week that would restrict publicly-funded health insurance from covering surgeries for transgender Iowans because that’s how it was before in Iowa.
Republican lawmakers passed the provision in response to an Iowa Supreme Court decision pointing out Medicaid must cover transition-related surgeries under the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
0507reynoldshhs: 16 “The narrow provision that says that the civil rights act does not require taxpayer dollars to go to sex reassignment and other similar surgeries—that takes it back to the way it’s always been. That’s been the state’s position for a long time.”
Critics say it’s discriminatory and could be life-threatening for some transgender Iowans. A legal challenge is expected soon.
The Sioux City Council approved plans for two cell phone towers during its weekly meeting last night. Additionally, a third tower placement passed the first hurdle for its site plan, but after being criticized by neighbors in the meeting, must be further addressed by council members in a future meeting.
Iowa has scored on par with the nation when it comes to preparation for health emergencies such as disease outbreaks and natural disasters. That’s according to the results from the sixth annual National Health Security Preparedness Index, which were released today (Wednesday). Iowa scored notably high in the category of environment and occupational health.
The index was originally developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2013. Iowa’s ranked 6-point-8 overall on a 10-point scale compared to 6-point-7 nationwide.