While the 2023 Iowa Legislative Session saw many bills passed by both chambers and signed into law, there are several that didn’t pass both chambers, and didn’t continue forward.

Iowa House Representative for District 23 Ray Sorensen says one bill he would’ve liked to see pass pertained to a student teacher stipend, which would’ve allowed school districts to compensate student teachers, not exceeding the salary of their lowest paid teacher, in an effort to try and draw more people into becoming educators. He adds that another bill in the educational field he would’ve liked to pass regarded school board access to information, which would’ve clarified that school board members would be able to review library books, look over curriculums, professional development materials, and the at board members could work with teachers and the superintendent to sit in on classes.

Sorensen tells Raccoon Valley Radio that when it came to some bills related to healthcare, one he had wanted to see make it through regarded annual enrollment in additional care policies for those with Medicare.

“Medicare supplemental insurance, often called Medigap, is by private companies to pay for the remaining healthcare costs not covered by Medicare. This is different than Medicare Advantage Plan, which is Medicare covered. You cannot have both Medicare Advantage and Medigap, but it prohibits consideration of preexisting conditions and issuing Medigap plans.”

Non medical switching was another bill that Sorensen mentions didn’t pass, that would’ve prohibited health insurance companies from switching a person’s prescriptions to a less costly alternative. He explained that just because these insurance companies wanted to save money, doesn’t mean they should change the medications that have been working successfully for any person taking them.

The final bill that Sorensen says he would’ve liked to see pass, was his own Seizure Safe Bill. The bill would have included seizure training in the trainings teachers go through, so that they can help a student who was having one. He notes that there are many different kinds of seizures, and not all of them are as noticeable as others, mentioning that sometimes it could just look like a student had started daydreaming, or wasn’t paying attention.