The Iowa Senate debated House File 626, designed to provide for better continuity of care for patients, on April 16, 2024. The bill would prohibit insurance companies from changing patients' medications or raising the cost of medications in the middle of a coverage year, if the patient was stable on the medication and a health care provider continued to prescribe it.
The Iowa House had unanimously approved the bill in March 2023, but due primarily to insurance company lobbying, it wasn't brought to the floor of the Iowa Senate for more than a year.
Prior to this clip from the floor debate, senators approved an amendment changing the effective date for insurance plans from January 1, 2024 to January 1, 2025.
In this video, Democratic State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott said she was grateful the bill was moving forward. She mentioned that many advocates have been working on the bill for a long time.
Republican State Senator Cherielynn Westrich then delivered closing remarks in support of the bill. She noted that the bill gives patients an avenue to continue their medication. "It can be difficult to gain medical stability" with chronic conditions like epilepsy or schizophrenia. "It can sometimes take years to find that right medication. Switching medications in these cases can be catastrophic. This bill will help to promote stability of patients, improve health outcomes, and put doctors and patients in charge of their health care."
The Iowa Senate unanimously approved House File 626. House members overwhelmingly approved the amended bill the following day. Governor Kim Reynolds signed it into law in May 2024.
12 май 2024
