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A bill requiring some Medicaid recipients to work to keep their health care coverage is advancing to the Iowa Senate floor. The bill was passed in committee today. Lawmakers removed part of the bill that would have enforced stricter income limits for food assistance.
The bill mandates that people between 18 and 64 years old need to prove they are working or volunteering at least 20 hours per week unless they qualify for an exemption.
Opponents say missing a deadline could cause some people to unintentionally lose their health benefits.
Local governments couldn’t keep landlords from denying tenants based on their use of federal housing vouchers under a bill advancing in the Iowa Senate.
Des Moines, Marion and Iowa City already ban landlords from refusing tenants because of their source of income. The bill would only apply to vouchers or federal housing assistance for low-income families.
Democratic Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames says it’s unacceptable.
“Allowing landlords to discriminate against people who use the federal housing vouchers is a way of discriminating against poor people.”
Republican Senator Jeff Edler, who proposed the bill, says these ordinances improperly force private property owners to enter contracts with tenants and housing authorities.
There is a possible case of the mumps in northeast Nebraska in the Laurel-Concord-Coleridge School District. The Northeast Nebraska Public Health Department sent a letter this week warning parents about the contagious disease.
The possible case in the school district hasn’t been confirmed yet.
