Lt. Governor talks priorities for ’08 session

Health care emphasized in budget

By BILL SHEA, Messenger staff writer
Keeping Iowans healthy is a major theme of the proposed state budget for 2008-2009, according to Lt. Gov. Patty Judge.

‘‘I think health care is probably without a doubt the issue that is most on the minds of Iowa citizens,’’ she said Wednesday during a visit to Fort Dodge.

She’s touring the state to talk about the priorities Gov. Chet Culver laid out in his Condition of the State Address Tuesday.

The administration, she said, wants to spend another $4.4 million on HAWK-I, a health insurance program for children from families that can’t afford private insurance, but don’t qualify for Medicaid.

Judge said that investment would give coverage to another 7,500 children.

Expanding options for small businesses that want to pool together to buy health insurance for their workers is another priority for Culver and Judge.

A former nurse, Judge was directed by Culver to lead a task force to examine the shortage of nurses in the state. She said that shortage is directly tied to the fact that nursing pay in Iowa ranks 49th out of the 50 states.

That panel is to make a recommendation in 60 days. The lieutenant governor said she doesn’t expect any quick fixes. The low pay, she said, is a chronic problem that stems in part from the fact that Iowa gets the lowest reimbursements from Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly.

Ideally, Judge said, Iowans will start taking better care of themselves so they won’t need the insurance and the nurses as often. The administration is starting by encouraging all state employees to exercise, eat right and get routine health tests.

Judge said she’ll use the ‘‘bully pulpit’’ of her office to try to get vending machines loaded with snacks and soda out of Iowa schools.

‘‘People really need to understand that according to any doctor’s charts over half the children in this state are obese,’’ she said. ‘‘Adults need to start setting some rules, some guidelines, for what children put in their mouths.’’

She said she expects a bill to set physical activity standards for schools will be introduced during the legislative session.

Judge defended a controversial plan to double the deposit on bottles and cans as an ideal way to protect the environment and finance the state’s Resource Enhancement and Protection program.

Under that plan, the deposit would rise to 10 cents per container. But when people redeemed their cans and bottles they would only get 8 cents per container back. One penny of their deposit would go to the REAP account; another would go to redemption centers to help them stay in business.

‘‘For that 2 cents you are going to make sure you’re protecting the environment and keeping those bottles out of the landfill,’’ Judge said.

‘‘I don’t think that amount of money is going to be a deterrent to someone buying a six-pack of beer on the way home from work,’’ she added. ‘‘There’s a lot of benefit for a very little bit of money.’’

Judge said she and the governor want lawmakers to send them a plan to finance the new road account called Transportation Investment Moves the Economy in the 21st Century, or TIME-21.

‘‘Get us a package so we can get on the road with this,’’ she said. ‘‘Just because we’re not going to have a raise in the gasoline tax doesn’t mean there aren’t things we can’t do. It’s our desire that they do something this year to get us started.’’



Contact Bill Shea at (515) 573-2141 or bshea@messengernews.net