By Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register
Undocumented immigrants and some immigrants with legal status would be excluded from a nutrition program for low-income women, young children and babies, under a bill passed by the Iowa House.
The wide-ranging public assistance bill, House File 2716, limits eligibility for the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program to U.S. citizens and “qualified aliens” as defined in federal law.
That would exclude undocumented immigrants, as well as holders of temporary protected status and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
Currently, WIC is available to Iowa women and babies based on income, regardless of their legal status. Lawmakers amended the bill to say that a child who is a citizen or qualified alien will still be eligible for benefits regardless of their parents’ legal status.
“It comes down to this: Are we a nation of laws or not?” said Rep. Austin Harris, R-Moulton. “Do we play by the rules or not? Do we put Iowans first or do we allow people who broke into this country to take advantage of these public assistance programs?”
WIC is a nutrition program that provides healthy foods, breastfeeding support, nutrition education and other resources to low-income pregnant women, and mothers, infants and children up to age 5.
Rep. Angel Ramirez, D-Cedar Rapids, said “WIC isn’t a luxury.”
“This bill would cut off undocumented mothers during pregnancy,” she said. “It would deny formula and nutritious food to newborns and toddlers who had no say in how they came into this country. These are infants. They cannot advocate for themselves. They depend entirely on us to protect them.”
House lawmakers voted 62-30 to pass the bill, sending it to the Iowa Senate. One Democrat, Rep. Dan Gosa, D-Davenport, joined Republicans in voting yes and one Republican, Rep. Chad Ingels, R-Randalia, joined Democrats in voting no.
Public assistance recipients would have to live in Iowa for 1 year to qualify
The wide-ranging bill also includes new residency requirements for several public assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Recipients of SNAP, WIC, state child care assistance and a few other programs would have to prove they have lived in Iowa for 12 months before they can claim benefits.
The bill would also require the state to use the federal SAVE program to check eligibility for public assistance programs such as SNAP and Medicaid.
Iowans with disabilities could earn more and keep their Medicaid coverage
The legislation also expands eligibility for people enrolled in the Medicaid for Employed People with Disabilities program by raising the financial threshold at which they are cut off from receiving assistance.
The program provides Medicaid coverage for people with disabilities who need services that aren’t provided by public insurance.
Iowans with disabilities have said the current rules prevent them from working good jobs because they no longer would qualify for Medicaid based on their income income.
The bill moves the cutoff from 250% of the federal poverty level to 300%, which is $46,950 for a single person and $96,450 for a family of four.
An analysis from the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency estimates that 457 new people will become eligible for the program with the change.
It also exempts pensions, one vehicle and any income earned by the person’s spouse from assets that count towards the program’s asset limit.
Rep. J.D. Scholten, D-Sioux City, proposed an amendment that would have replaced the text of the bill with a broader expansion of the MEPD program.
“One in five Iowans have a disability, and the realty is we all could become disabled at a moment’s notice,” Scholten said. “Don’t we want to enable Iowans with disabilities to enter the workforce and advance their career without the fear of losing their essential health care?”
Harris said he knows some people would like to go further in eliminating income and asset limits, “but this is a start.”
He said he’s met with several Iowans who would be affected by the law change and “it almost breaks my heart listening to their stories.”
“These are folks that have to be on this program through no fault of their own,” he said. “We have people who are on welfare who are begging us to let them work more. I think that’s a pretty conservative principle.”
Senate bill would put Iowa’s Medicaid managed care system in law
The Iowa Senate has its own wide-ranging bill with changes to the state’s public assistance programs.
The bill, Senate File 2422, would require Iowa to maintain its privatized Medicaid system, known as managed care.
Former Gov. Terry Branstad privatized Iowa’s Medicaid system in 2016. The state works with multiple providers, known as managed care organizations, to deliver Medicaid services to Iowans.
Several Iowa parents from around the state traveled to the Capitol on March 10 to testify at a House subcommittee on the bill, urging legislators to remove the requirement that the state use a managed care system.
Wendy Andersen of Traynor said her 17-year-old son was diagnosed at 6 months old with a condition that includes tumors in his brain, epilepsy, intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism. She recounted struggling to get approval from his managed care organization for his chemotherapy medication, only for the company to deny the request.
“Families raising children with disabilities already live with an enormous amount of stress,” she said. “When systems designed to help us create barriers, delays and denials, it becomes almost unbearable. I strongly encourage you to not lock Iowa further into (a) Medicaid managed care system that is already failing so many of our families that rely on it every day.”
The bill also requires the state to use SAVE to check public assistance eligibility and aligns Iowa with Republicans’ “One Big, Beautiful Bill” by excluding undocumented immigrants, refugees and some other immigrants with legal status from receiving SNAP benefits.
It says only U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents and Cuban or Haitian immigrants qualify for SNAP benefits.
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