2026 Legislative Priorities

1. Health of the Public

IAFP is opposed to legislation that would erode physicians’ ability to practice within their full scope and that puts Iowa patients in harm’s way.  Specifically, the IAFP is committed to monitoring the scope of practice protection, supporting vaccination as a tool for healthy communities, and promote policies that protect and preserve patient-physician relationships. 

IAFP will continue to support recommendations for immunizations and therapeutics that are rooted in science and are in the best interest of the health of our patients and communities.

2. Increased Medicaid Reimbursement Rates

IAFP supports increased Medicaid reimbursement rates for primary care services and for physicians in rural communities. Increased reimbursement allows for better patient access, improved outcomes, and healthier communities.

 

3. Workforce Initiatives 

The Academy will continue to explore ways to increase quality physician access to patients in Iowa through workforce programs like the Primary Care Rural Loan Repayment Program drafted by the IAFP in 2014. Fully funding these programs is critical to maintain a physician centered primary care workforce in Iowa. As such, IAFP supports:

• Increased funding for the Rural Primary Care Loan Repayment Program,
• Increased state funding for the Medical Residency Programs
  
  

4. Maternal Care and Insurance Coverage

In the current ACA marketplace, qualifying life events triggering a special enrollment period include the birth of a child but do not include pregnancy. Health and Human Services has declined previous requests to establish pregnancy as a qualifying life event triggering a Special Enrollment Period.  

This causes a gap in insurance coverage for pregnant women because they earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, are not enrolled or eligible for employer-sponsored plans, and become pregnant outside of the ACA Marketplace Insurance enrollment period.  

Women who do not receive prenatal care are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications, and their infants are three times more likely to have a low birth rate and five times more likely to die in infancy. 

IAFP endorses and publicly advocates the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Congress for establishing pregnancy as a triggering life event for a Special Enrollment Period in the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. 

5. Iowa Healthcare Asset Protection

Protecting and retaining physicians: Work on legislation to reduce the stress and financial burden on healthcare providers from increasing malpractice lawsuits and insurance costs.

Controlling healthcare costs: This legislation will mitigate malpractice costs will help lower healthcare costs for everyone.

Structured, fair process: Support legislation designed to create a more structured and fair process for addressing malpractice claims.

Protecting doctors' personal assets: With some exceptions for willful misconduct or insufficient insurance, the legislation protects a health care provider's personal assets from being pursued in a lawsuit.