Helping health care in rural areas of the state has been a major task for the 2025 Iowa Legislative Session.

Representative for District 23 Ray Sorensen says that the House recently passed several bills aimed at improving rural health care. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio about House File 972, which was a proposal from Governor Kim Reynolds.

“It tackles this in multiple ways. It directs the Department of Health and Human Services to seek federal approval for a hub and spoke funding model, fostering regional collaboration among providers to improve rural (health) care delivery. It also consolidates five loan repayment programs into one streamlined system, doubles the funding, and then prioritizes high need professions in those shortage areas.”

Sorensen mentions that another bill that was passed includes House File 887, which removes the requirement for birth centers to have a certificate of need to open or grow, which cuts the red tape for mothers and babies. He adds that yet another bill that made it through the House was House File 919, which allows for ChildServe’s new specialty status to unlock federal funds, growing care for children with special needs.