The federal government gave states funding to run rebate programs to encourage citizens to purchase energy efficient appliances for the home. In Iowa, the Office of Energy Independence was given the responsibility to administer the program. Iowans were eligible to get rebates of up to $500 on new refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers, and furnaces.

OEI projected that the funding would last at least two weeks. The Office had contracted with an outside firm to set up a system whereby Iowans could apply for the rebate over the internet or the phone. OEI boasted that their contractor was more than capable with handling any volume of interest.

When Monday morning arrived, many Iowans attempted to take advantage of the program. What they discovered was a website that they could not access and jammed phone lines. Some shoppers spent hours trying to get through on the phone, while others kept hitting the refresh button. By the middle of the afternoon, the Office of Energy Independence declared victory by announcing that all the refund money had already been claimed. Many Iowans were let wondering if they had gotten any rebate at all.

While it took six hours to hand out the money, it will take a lot longer to figure out why things went so quickly and so badly. After the program was closed, Iowans were still being encouraged to buy appliances, on the chance that someone who claimed a rebate would not file for it and there would be money left over.

Legislators have been swamped with complaints about the failure of OEI’s contractor to handle the program. While the Office is now saying they are conducting an investigation of the situation, it is extremely unlikely that they will produce a report any time soon. But it is possible that legislators will force the officials in charge of the rebate program to explain what went wrong.

With the discussion over rising insurance premiums, Iowans expect their legislators to save them money. Iowans might be surprised that the majority party is, in fact, looking for ways to increase the demands on health insurers. All that means is one thing – even higher premiums in the future.

Currently, there are five different bills in the Legislature that would implement new requirements on health insurance plans. They are :

House File 234 – Mental Health Parity
The bill would require Iowa-regulated health insurance plans to offer the same level of coverage for mental health and substance abuse as the plan does for physical health issues. What is covered is based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is used as the guidebook for psychiatric diagnoses. This book is being revised to add new recognized conditions. If House File 234 is adopted, this could require insurance plans to cover apathy disorder, internet addition, and gambling addiction.

House File 2329 – Mandated Coverage of Medication Therapy Management
The bill would require state-regulated insurance plans to pay pharmacists for counseling customers on the proper use of the prescriptions they receive and to also pay pharmacists for overseeing the different prescriptions of a customer.

House File 2404 – Mandated Coverage of Audiology Services
The bill would require Iowa-regulated plans to cover audiology exams, hearing aids and ear molds for children under the age of 18. Currently, the state has a program that provides hearing services to children without audiology coverage through the Dept. of Public Health for around $230,000 per year. The imposition of a mandate could increase the premium payments for state employee insurance plans by $600,000.

House File 2410 – Substitution of Anti-Epileptic Drugs
The bill would require a pharmacist to provide notice to a patient and their health care provider of the intent to substitute a different drug for what the provider prescribed when that drug is used for the treatment of epileptic seizures. Under Iowa law, a pharmacist has the authority to substitute an equivalent drug when it is cheaper for the patient. This bill would place another bureaucratic process on the pharmacist for this one type of drugs. It has the potential to raise the cost of health insurance by requiring the use of more expensive medications.

Senate File 2349 – Mandated Coverage of Autism Services
The bill would require public employee health plans to provide coverage for services to person with autism. This would the be first step towards a full mandate on all insurance plans regulated by the state.

While each of these bills address legitimate health concerns, the fact remains that requiring health plans to add this coverage means additional costs. And additional costs to insurance companies turn into higher insurance premiums for Iowans.

What Iowans need for the Legislature to focus on are ideas that can really lower costs. House Republicans have offered a number of ideas, including allowing insurance companies to sell mandate-free policies, offer basic health plans for young adults, and breaks for Iowans who undertake wellness efforts to reduce their need for health care services. Will Democrats join in fighting growing health care costs, or will they continue to pile on Iowans’ insurance bills?

Senate Democrats came forward with their proposal for health care reform during the 2010 legislative session. Unlike health care reform bills from previous years, SF 2092 just deals with a few issues. But like the other ideas, the initial proposal will cost the taxpayers a lot of money.

The centerpiece of the bill is a major expansion of the IowaCare program. Created in 2005 as a replacement to the State Papers program at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, IowaCare offers basic care to lower-income Iowans that are not eligible for Medicaid. Services are only available at UIHC and for Polk County residents, at Broadlawns Medical Center.

Under the Senate bill, IowaCare would be dramatically expanded by allowing Iowans earning up to 400 percent of poverty to sign up for what Senate Democrats are calling IowaCare Plus. Iowans earning between 200 and 300 percent would receive premium assistance from the state to pay for the coverage. Those earning between 300 and 400 percent would have to pay the full cost of coverage.

The cost of these changes are something that Senate Democrats don’t really want folks to worry about. Proponents say the bill is dependent on federal funding, but they don’t know how much it could cost. The non-partisan Legislative Services Agency is working on an estimate. Using consultant reports from previous proposals, it is very clear that hundreds of millions of dollars will be needed to subsidize coverage.

To Iowans following the federal health care debate, the Democrat’s plan looks like the Iowa version of the public option.

The bill also represents a major expansion of the services provided by IowaCare. Currently, the program provides a basic level of care. Senate File 92 would add pharmacy and dental coverage to the program. Providing these services to IowaCare Plus means the state would also have to include them in the current IowaCare program. This is expected to significantly increase the cost of the program by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Another portion of the bill creates an Insurance Exchange, which could end up becoming a government-run insurance super agent. The bill would have the state establish an entity to provide insurance information to consumers and “To provide a portal where uninsured Iowans can receive assistance in obtaining health care coverage.”

It is the second part that concerns many insurance agents across Iowa. They view this proposal to as the first step to establishing the state of Iowa as an insurance agent. The goal of the bill’s proponents to create a Massachusetts-like exchange where the state “assists” lower-income Iowans in purchasing health care insurance. For the insurance agents of Iowa, that sounds a lot like what they do. And they also know they would be at an extreme competitive disadvantage if the state were to enter their business.

In an effort to build support for the bill, Senate Democrats claimed that the bill simply implements the recommendations of the Legislative Health Care Coverage Commission. But the Commission’s discussions on IowaCare never discussed turning the program into a Public Option. And there was little direction from the Commission’s work group of how the insurance exchange would work. Commission members who were able to read the bill didn’t see much connection from their recommendations to the Senate Democrats’ wish list.

While details are very scarce on the bill, several items appear to be certain to be included. A national energy efficiency standard will probably be included, meaning utility customers will be paying more to fund these efforts. Implementing a renewable portfolio standard for utilities to have a certain amount of energy produced from renewable sources will also be in the bill.

The big impact would come from a cap and trade system for greenhouse gases. Under this, a carbon dioxide producer would pay a set rate for each ton produced. Needless to say, this fee would have to come from someone and that someone would be the customer.

According to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, if the fee for carbon emissions is $20 per metric ton produced Iowans will see their electric bill go up 15 percent. This amount seems slight compared to the 37% percent increase if the bill has the fee at $50 per ton.

The impact of the cap and trade system on consumers is creating a great deal of heartburn for many House Democrats. While Energy and Commerce chair Henry Waxman and subcommittee chair Edward Markey have no trouble driving up utility rates for their constituents, many of their colleagues do. Even House Ways and Means chair Charles Rangel is concerned. “Whether you call it a tax, everyone agrees that it’s going to increase the cost to the consumer,” said Rangel. “At the end of the day … if there’s nothing there to repay [consumers] for their financial expenditures, it might be difficult to fight Republicans who call this a tax.”

2009 End of Session Wrap-up

There have been many articles lately in the media about the latest craze on the social networking site Facebook – 25 random things about me, All across the world, people of all ages are posting random facts about their lives for their friends and others to read. This seems very innocent, people telling funny anecdotes about themselves to their friends and family. But what if this phenomenon is not about revealing fun and embarrassing information about yourself. What if 25 random things about me is really a scam to get people to give out the keys to their online accounts?

People are providing all sorts of little known information about themselves. Among the items people post about themselves are:

• Where they met their spouse.
• Where they went for their first date.
• Their wedding anniversary.
• Where they went to elementary school.
• Their best friend’s name.
• Their favorite color.
• Their parent’s middle names.
• Their mother’s maiden name.

That seems like harmless stuff. But if you go to your Gmail, AOL, or online banking/credit card website and click the “Forgot My Password” link, you’ll be surprised to see what information they want to verify who you are.

Many sites now utilize a pre-defined security question that you provide the answer to. They include:

• What was the name of the first school you attended?
• What is your favorite movie?
• What city were you born in?
• Who was your first employer?
• What is your first pet’s name?

People are posting the answers to these security questions without even realizing they were doing it. Even worse, is the lack of security that people have placed on this information. Internet security experts are recommending that Facebook users should check the privacy settings on their Facebook account. Have you restricted who can view or search for their information? Did you uncheck the box for “Create a public search listing…?” If you haven’t, its possible that Google already has your information cached out for the world to search for.

This situation shows the perils of internet. What may seem like harmless fun could be providing the key to your identity.