HF 387: Creating the better caths for Iowa Act including a review of the use and reimbursement of certain catheters under the Medicaid program

What it does

This bill relates to the use and reimbursement of certain catheters under the Medicaid program. The bill shall be known as the “Better Caths for Iowa Act”. The bill includes findings relating to the use of phthalates, a family of toxic endocrine-disrupting chemicals that include Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate or DEHP, that when added to certain plastic products increase their flexibility. These products include catheters. The findings include that American patients receiving care in hospitals and other settings are overexposed to dangerous levels of phthalates; exposure to phthalates can do lasting harm to child brain development and increases children’s risks for learning, attention, and behavior disorders; a pregnant woman’s exposure to phthalates can harm reproductive tract development in male babies which may have lifelong consequences; phthalates have been banned from use in children’s toys in the United States; women have higher exposure to phthalates found in care products than men; African American and Latina women have higher exposure to certain phthalates compared with white women; persons with disabilities who use catheters experience bladder cancer at four times the national average; little has been done to protect patients from these harmful chemicals to actually reduce the use of these chemicals in health care settings; that the three billing categories of intermittent catheters, straight tip, curved tip, and sterile kit, show large differences between Medicare payments and acquisition costs, indicating the potential for substantial savings both to the Medicare program and Medicare beneficiaries who share responsibility for payment of the Medicare-allowed reimbursement amount; and that at the very least, the Iowa Medicaid program should not reimburse medical device manufacturers, distributors, or suppliers for catheters that are made with the known carcinogen DEHP.

House subcommittee · named February 24, 2023

• Rep. Dr. Steven P. Bradley (R) · steven.bradley@legis.iowa.gov
• Rep. Michael R. Bergan (R) · michael.bergan@legis.iowa.gov
• Rep. Josh Turek (D) · josh.turek@legis.iowa.gov

Lobbying · 3 for, 0 against

For: Easterseals Iowa; Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council; Spina Bifida Association of Iowa

In plain words

1. February 21, 2023Filed in the House and sent to the Health and Human Services committee
2. February 22, 2023House subcommittee named: Fry, Bradley and Turek
3. February 24, 2023House subcommittee named: Bradley, Bergan and Turek
4. February 28, 2023Subcommittee recommended passing it