Des Moines, Iowa — Republicans in the Iowa House of Representatives are working on a bill that proposes a new process to confirm applicants for food assistance or government health care coverage are Iowans who qualify for the benefits.
Doug Struyk is a lobbyist for companies that provide this type of screening in other states and he says it’s beyond traditional questions, like “did you live in this zip code?” or “what’s your mother’s maiden name?”
The bill would require the Iowa Department of Human Services to perform more frequent financial cross-checks to confirm a person enrolled in government health care or food assistance programs remains eligible. Andrea Dencklau is with Iowa ACEs 360, a group that does research into adverse childhood experiences. She says adults who qualify for Medicaid and children who qualify for the state-paid insurance through the Healthy and Well Kids program could lose coverage if they’re unable to come up with the monthly co-payments.
Republican Representative Ann Meyer of Fort Dodge voted to advance the bill out of a House subcommittee.
Senate Republicans have been working on similar proposals for the past few years, but none have advanced through the House.
