Bill > SF582

Introduced Session

This bill relates to matters under the purview of the department of health and human services (HHS). DIVISION I —— ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS. The bill excludes persons employed by an administrative services organization (ASO) from the definition of an employee for the purposes of the Iowa public employees’ retirement system. The bill prohibits an ASO, or an officer or an employee of an ASO, from acting as a county’s advocate to represent the interests of patients involuntarily hospitalized by the court in matters relating to a patient’s hospitalization or treatment. DIVISION II —— CHILD FOSTER CARE. Under current law, a person’s periodic support payments pursuant to an order or judgment are deemed assigned to HHS if the person is or has a child receiving foster care services. The assignment does not apply when a child is placed with a relative or fictive kin of the child who is not licensed to provide child foster care. The bill permits the assignment unless the relative or fictive kin is not licensed to provide child foster care and not approved by HHS to provide services as specified by HHS. The bill defines “fictive kin” as an adult person who is not a relative of a child but who has an emotionally positive significant relationship with the child or the child’s family. The bill defines “foster family home” as a licensed single-family home environment in which an individual provides child foster care. The bill includes within the Code chapter 237 (child foster care facilities) definition of “licensee”, an individual who has been approved by HHS to provide child foster care. The bill makes several changes to Code chapter 237 and to Code sections 232.78 (temporary custody of a child pursuant to ex parte court order), 232.98 (hearing concerning temporary removal), 232.102 (transfer of legal custody of child and placement), 234.1 (child and family services —— definitions), 234.39 (child and family services —— responsibility for costs of services), 237A.3A (child development homes), and 423.3 (streamlined sales and use tax Act —— exemptions). DIVISION III —— CHILD AND DEPENDENT ADULT ABUSE. The bill allows a community-based entity to apply for and receive funds appropriated to HHS by the general assembly for child abuse prevention. Under current law, only a community-based volunteer coalition or council can apply for and receive such funds. The bill makes child abuse information, and information obtained in the course of an assessment or evaluation of a report of dependent adult abuse, confidential records. The bill defines “exploitation of a dependent adult” as the act or process of an individual, including a caregiver or fiduciary, that uses the resources of a dependent adult for monetary or personal benefit, profit, or gain, or that results in depriving a dependent adult of rightful access to, or use of, benefits, resources, belongings, or assets. Under current law, upon a showing of probable cause that a dependent adult has been financially exploited a court may authorize a person, who is also authorized by HHS, to gain access to the financial records of the dependent adult. The bill amends the statute so the person authorized by the court and HHS can gain access to financial records that HHS has a reasonable belief are related to the financial resources of the dependent adult. The bill authorizes an instrumentality of the state to access dependent adult abuse records. The bill requires the director of HHS to require providers under the medical assistance program to share information with HHS as necessary to identify, prevent, or respond to child or dependent adult abuse. DIVISION IV —— DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES —— CONFIDENTIALITY OF INTERNAL AUDIT AND EXAMINATION INFORMATION. The bill makes information, including allegations of misconduct or noncompliance and audit or examination workpapers, created or received by HHS during an internal audit or examination (information) confidential. HHS may disclose the information as necessary to complete an audit or examination, or to the extent HHS’s auditor is required by law to report the same or to testify in court. The bill also prevents the state auditor from accessing the information except as required to comply with the standards for engagement described in Code section 11.3 (when audits and examinations begin), to comply with state or federal regulations, or in case of alleged or suspected embezzlement or theft. DIVISION V —— REGION INCENTIVE FUND —— DISTRIBUTIONS AND TRANSFERS. The bill appropriates from the region incentive fund of the mental health and disability services regional service fund to HHS for FY 2024-2025, an amount as necessary to ensure the continuity of care for persons transferring services from the mental health and disability services system to the behavioral health services system (BHSS) and for distribution to ASOs to be used for expenses related to the duties of the ASO under the BHSS. The moneys used by an ASO do not count toward any limit on the ASO’s administrative costs. The bill requires any unobligated and unencumbered moneys remaining in the mental health and disability services regional service fund on June 30, 2025, to be transferred to the behavioral health fund. This division of the bill is effective upon enactment and applies retroactively to July 1, 2024. DIVISION VI —— HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION —— APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE FOR PREMIUM TAX. Under current law, a health maintenance organization contracting with HHS to administer the medical assistance program must pay taxes to the director of the department of revenue for deposit in the Medicaid managed care organization premiums fund, an amount equal to 2.5 percent of the premiums received and taxable. The bill changes such amount to the applicable percent of the premiums received and taxable. The “applicable percent” is defined in Code section 432.1(2) (tax on gross premiums —— exclusions), and is .95 percent for the 2025 calendar year, .925 percent for the 2026 calendar year, and .9 percent for the 2027 calendar year and all subsequent calendar years. This division of the bill is effective upon enactment and applies retroactively to January 1, 2024.

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No sponsors listed

Other Sponsors (1)

Committee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 620. S.J. 736. (on 04/08/2025)

Official Document