Stigma against HIV-positive Iowans and access to insurance are issues that are exacerbated by current Iowa law, but one new bill and an amendment I am sponsoring provide much needed change.

A bill I sponsored cleared a Senate subcommittee last week, but did not make it out of standing committee in time for the end of funnel week. This bill proposed changes to modernize and update Iowa's current HIV criminal transmission laws that do not reflect current medical knowledge or treatment. This bill would help HIV positive individuals and encourage openness and support for victims by decreasing criminal penalties for transmission of the disease.

Hundreds of at-risk Iowans have been denied coverage for their medical needs due to the failure of a high-risk insurance pool program. The program has failed to enroll hundreds of HIV-positive residents of Iowa who could be entitled to more extensive coverage due to a new federally funded program. I have begun work in the Senate to address this issue and to try to help those who deserve coverage from the program.

The high-risk program was created by the federal health reform law and is meant to help Americans with pre-existing health conditions, such as HIV. The problem in Iowa is that the state continues to prohibit third parties, such as other federal programs like the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, from paying for patients’ conditions and care. This prevents uninsured patients from receiving additional funding in the form of coverage that could pay for hospitalizations and doctor visits.

I want to address this issue and create access to funding for all Iowans who fit this high-risk category. The group responsible for the program in Iowa has resisted covering hundreds of eligible patients because of cost concerns. Yet other states have insured as many as they can and have used federal dollars to cover the costs. Iowa should do the same instead of intentionally denying assistance to a targeted group of high-risk patients with HIV.

Live Healthy Iowa’s 100-Day Wellness Challenge kicks off January 23. Over the course of 100 days, teams of 2 to10 people take part in friendly competition by tracking their activity minutes or weight loss. Get involved and take advantage of the Live Healthy Iowa website’s personal tracking, goal-setting options and nutrition resources. Learn more at livehealthyiowa.org.

You may have heard about a new effort to make Iowa the healthiest state in the nation within five years. Our state ranks #19 right now, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

While Iowa scores well in many areas, there is room for improvement. For example, obesity is on the rise in Iowa. Two-thirds of all Iowans are overweight or obese, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. Our obesity rate was 28 percent in 2010, a big increase from the 14 percent obesity rate in 1990.

A new statewide effort aims to turn this and other unhealthy trends around. The Healthiest State Initiative focuses on improving our overall health and wellbeing. If successful, it’ll mean a better quality of life for Iowans and a stronger economy for our state. Here’s why.

This year, the Legislature approved several initiatives to improve the health and wellbeing of Iowans:

Protecting seniors from abuse: Iowa is among the top states in the nation for the quality of care provided to its senior citizens, according to the AARP. We want to keep it that way. That’s why we re-established 10 long-term care inspectors, three inspectors for residential care facilities and an attorney with the Iowa Department of Inspections & Appeals. The AARP applauded our efforts to give Iowans improved oversight of quality standards in nursing homes. Unfortunately, the Branstad Administration has failed so far to hire the necessary inspectors, meaning there’s more work to be done on this issue.

Preventing brain injuries: As a result of legislation approved this year, student athletes suspected of sustaining a concussion in a game will now be removed from competition until they’ve been examined by a licensed healthcare provider. In addition, guidelines and information about the risks, signs and symptoms of concussions and brain injuries will be provided to coaches, students and parents. The National Football League and the Brain Injury Association of Iowa encouraged us to take this step to better prevent permanent damage due to sports-related head injuries among our kids.

Enhancing services for mentally disabled Iowans: We established a special committee to provide recommendations for improving mental health and disability services in Iowa. The goal is to reorganize our system to provide higher-quality, more accessible, efficient services to Iowans who need them. The committee is meeting this fall and will draft legislation for consideration during the 2012 session. To learn more about the committee’s work, visit the Department of Human Service’s Web site: www.dhs.iowa.gov/Partners/MHDSRedesign.html.

Improving treatment for Alzheimer’s and epilepsy: We created task forces to study the best ways to treat Iowans suffering from Alzheimer’s and epilepsy. They will report their results to the Legislature next spring.

Iowa continues to be the best place in the nation to be kid when it comes to health care, according to a new report by the Commonwealth Fund, a health research foundation.

The State Scorecard on Child Health System Performance looks at such factors as children’s health care access, affordability, prevention and treatment, and the potential to lead healthy lives.

This report found that Iowa’s health care for kids is second to none. Our innovative efforts, particularly in prevention and greater access to care, make Iowa a model for the nation. And we keep getting better. Iowa recently was awarded $6.8 million from the federal government for cutting red tape for families applying for children’s health insurance.

With the New Year comes a new legislative session. The 2011 session begins on January 10, and I’ve got some New Year resolutions that I’ll be working to keep every day at the Iowa Statehouse.

My top resolution is creating good-paying jobs for Iowans. Iowa’s unemployment numbers are low compared to most other states, but that’s not good enough. We can do a whole lot more to put hard-working Iowans back on the job.

I want to thank Iowans who participated in the 2010 elections. We had a large turnout at the polls, which makes for a strong democracy.

Voters clearly voiced their discontent with the lingering national recession. That’s the message I’ll be taking to the Iowa Statehouse when I return for the 2011 legislative session.

This year, the Legislature took the final step in extending health insurance to 30,000 Iowa children who’d been uninsured when we began our health care for kids initiative three years ago.

The state’s Hawk-I program and the federal Medicaid program are key to our efforts. These programs provide critical health care coverage for children from Iowa’s low- and moderate-income families.

Making full use of what these programs have to offer is a smart investment in the health of Iowans. In the end, everyone’s health bills are lower when families aren’t forced to rely on expensive ER visits for their medical care.

Because of our children’s healthcare initiative, Iowa now has one of the highest percentages of insured kids in the nation. According to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, Iowa ranks No. 1 overall in health care for children. The Commonwealth Fund also praised our state for children's access to care, quality of care, family insurance programs, and the potential for Iowa children to lead long, healthy, productive lives.

This is something we should all be proud of. Research has shown that access to health care coverage increases a child’s school performance by almost 70 percent. It also improves a child’s readiness to learn, their ability to pay attention in class and leads to better school attendance.

To learn more about health care options available for children from low- and moderate-income Iowa families, go to www.hawk-i.org/en_US/index.html.

To read the full report from the Commonwealth Fund, visit www.commonwealthfund.org/publications and click on “U.S. Variations in Child Health System Performance: A State Scorecard.”