House File 106 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  STAED, WINCKLER,
                                     WESSEL=KROESCHELL,
                                     HEDDENS, ANDERSON,
                                     BERRY, THEDE,
                                     BROWN=POWERS,
                                     McCONKEY, GASKILL,
                                     SMITH, ABDUL=SAMAD,
                                     STECKMAN, KEARNS,
                                     OURTH, HANSON, HUNTER,
                                     MEYER, MASCHER,
                                     LENSING, WOLFE,
                                     FORBES, GAINES,
                                     KELLEY, OLSON, DUNKEL,
                                     PRICHARD, OLDSON, and
                                     RUFF

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the establishment of a health workforce
  2    center.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  FINDINGS AND INTENT.
  1  2    1.  The general assembly finds all of the following:
  1  3    a.  The majority of aging Iowans and individuals with
  1  4 disabilities want to live as independently as possible in their
  1  5 own communities for as long as possible.
  1  6    b.  The increasing number of aging Iowans and individuals
  1  7 with disabilities requires a greater supply of health and
  1  8 long=term care workers.
  1  9    c.  The safety and well=being of Iowans is dependent upon a
  1 10 stable health and long=term care workforce to serve their needs
  1 11 when and where such needs arise.
  1 12    d.  The direct care workforce is America's fastest growing
  1 13 profession, with the need estimated by the state direct care
  1 14 workforce initiative in Iowa to be 20,000 new direct care
  1 15 positions by the year 2020.  However, the number of individuals
  1 16 who typically fill these positions, typically women between the
  1 17 ages of 18 and 44, is dwindling, while those working in the
  1 18 field experience an average annual turnover rate of between 40
  1 19 and 60 percent.
  1 20    e.  High staff turnover cost taxpayers and the state millions
  1 21 of dollars, annually, but more consistent and reliable data on
  1 22 supply, demand, turnover, turnover costs, staffing levels, and
  1 23 various data correlation and other analyses of this critical
  1 24 workforce is needed.
  1 25    f.  Extensive work has already been done to study the issues
  1 26 impacting the direct care workforce and other providers of
  1 27 health and long=term care with significant public and private
  1 28 sector investment, including:
  1 29    (1)  The direct care worker compensation advisory committee
  1 30 which submitted recommendations for consideration by the
  1 31 general assembly in the 2009 legislative session regarding
  1 32 wages and other compensation paid to direct care workers in
  1 33 nursing facilities.  The recommendations included strategies
  1 34 to improve wages and benefits paid to direct care workers
  1 35 employed in Iowa's nursing facilities that, in time, would help
  2  1 to bridge the wage gap for direct care workers in home and
  2  2 community=based and other settings if implemented.
  2  3    (2)  The various initiatives undertaken by the department of
  2  4 public health including the direct care worker task force, the
  2  5 governor's task force on the nursing shortage, the Alzheimer's
  2  6 disease task force, the direct care workforce initiative,
  2  7 and the personal and home care aide state training (PHCAST)
  2  8 project undertaken through a federal grant awarded to only six
  2  9 states in the country to develop and pilot a gold standard of
  2 10 education and training for direct care workers.
  2 11    (3)  The development of a strategic plan for health care
  2 12 delivery infrastructure and health care workforce resources by
  2 13 the health and long=term care access advisory council released
  2 14 in 2010.
  2 15    (4)  The accumulation of relevant data by various state
  2 16 agencies regarding issues impacting the health and long=term
  2 17 care workforce and the impact of not having a quality and
  2 18 stable workforce.
  2 19    g.  All of these studies and initiatives and all of the
  2 20 data collected have demonstrated consistent results, with the
  2 21 overriding recommendation being that a point of coordination
  2 22 should be established to address health and long=term care
  2 23 workforce concerns.
  2 24    h.  (1)  Iowa Code section 135.163 directs the department
  2 25 of public health to coordinate public and private efforts
  2 26 to develop and maintain an appropriate health care delivery
  2 27 infrastructure and a stable, well=qualified, diverse, and
  2 28 sustainable health care workforce in this state to address
  2 29 the broad spectrum of health care needs of Iowans throughout
  2 30 their lifespan including long=term care needs. At a minimum,
  2 31 the department is to develop a strategic plan for health care
  2 32 delivery infrastructure and health care workforce resources
  2 33 in this state; provide for the continuous collection of data
  2 34 to provide a basis for health care strategic planning and
  2 35 health care policymaking; and make recommendations regarding
  3  1 the health care delivery infrastructure and the health care
  3  2 workforce to assist in monitoring current needs, predicting
  3  3 future trends, and informing policymaking.
  3  4    (2)  Iowa Code section 135.11, subsection  27, directs
  3  5 the department of public health to establish and administer,
  3  6 if sufficient funds are available, a program to assess and
  3  7 forecast health workforce supply and demand in the state for
  3  8 the purpose of identifying current and projected workforce
  3  9 needs. The program may collect, analyze, and report data that
  3 10 furthers the purpose of the program. The program shall not
  3 11 release information that permits identification of individual
  3 12 respondents of program surveys.
  3 13    2.  Given that the recommendations of all of the initiatives
  3 14 and studies have consistently called for the establishment of
  3 15 a point of coordination and given the leadership demonstrated
  3 16 by the department of public health and the directives to the
  3 17 department relating to the health and long=term care workforce,
  3 18 it is the intent of the general assembly that an  Iowa health
  3 19 workforce center be established within the department of public
  3 20 health to act as the state's coordination point to address
  3 21 health workforce concerns.
  3 22    a.  It is the intent of the general assembly that the center
  3 23 provide a home   for direct care and other health workforce
  3 24 initiatives across state government, charged with ensuring a
  3 25 more coordinated effort to identify and address various needs
  3 26 and solutions to workforce stability, and focusing on the
  3 27 advancement of a significant body of research, programming, and
  3 28 services proven to be effective in bringing more stability to
  3 29 the health and long=term care workforce.
  3 30    b.  It is the intent of the general assembly that the
  3 31 investment in existing and new strategies funded by the state
  3 32 and the private sector, and carried out by the department, will
  3 33 result in a return on investment through improved utilization
  3 34 of tax dollars which has the potential to result in health care
  3 35 cost containment and reduce Medicaid and other costs related to
  4  1 poor quality of care and staff turnover.
  4  2    c.  It is also the intent of the general assembly that the
  4  3 center provide an opportunity to demonstrate Iowa's continued
  4  4 leadership in the nation as a model in providing quality of
  4  5 life for all of its citizens.
  4  6    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  135.164A  Iowa health workforce center
  4  7 == established.
  4  8    1.  The department shall establish an Iowa health workforce
  4  9 center to coordinate public and private health and long=term
  4 10 care workforce efforts in the state.
  4 11    2.  At a minimum, the center shall do all of the following:
  4 12    a.  Provide for continuous data collection, management,
  4 13 and analysis to ensure a basis for health care strategic
  4 14 planning and health care policymaking, and for the  making
  4 15 of recommendations to assist in monitoring current needs,
  4 16 predicting future trends, and informing policymaking.
  4 17    b.  Build a cohesive, collaborative, and comprehensive
  4 18 network of public and private partnerships with a common
  4 19 mission of ensuring a stable health and long=term care
  4 20 workforce prepared to provide quality care and support to
  4 21 Iowans and to  provide the basic infrastructure and capacity
  4 22 to advance existing bodies of work developed  through these
  4 23 efforts.
  4 24    c.  Examine the health care workforce from a systems=based
  4 25 approach and find solutions to the problems the health care
  4 26 system faces by bringing together stakeholders from education,
  4 27 health professions, hospitals, and government to build
  4 28 sustainable programs that solve the problems facing health
  4 29 care workers and employers through health care workforce
  4 30 innovations.
  4 31    d.  Coordinate recruitment, training, and retention efforts
  4 32 and serve as an incubator for new recruitment, training, and
  4 33 retention initiatives.
  4 34    e.  Undertake other activities as necessary to assist in
  4 35 developing and maintaining a stable, well=qualified, diverse,
  5  1 and sustainable health care workforce which may appropriately
  5  2 address the broad spectrum of health care needs of Iowans
  5  3 across their ability level and throughout their lifespan.
  5  4                           EXPLANATION
  5  5 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  5  6 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  5  7    This bill provides findings and intent of the general
  5  8 assembly relating to the establishment of an Iowa health
  5  9 workforce center.
  5 10    The bill establishes the Iowa health workforce center in the
  5 11 department of public health to coordinate public and private
  5 12 health and long=term care workforce efforts in the state.
  5 13 At a minimum, the center must provide for continuous data
  5 14 collection, management, and analysis to provide a basis for
  5 15 health care strategic planning and health care policymaking,
  5 16 and to make recommendations to assist in monitoring current
  5 17 needs, predicting future trends, and informing policymaking;
  5 18 build a cohesive, collaborative, and comprehensive network
  5 19 of public and private partnerships with a common mission of
  5 20 ensuring a stable health and long=term care workforce prepared
  5 21 to provide quality care and support to Iowans and  provide
  5 22 the basic infrastructure and capacity to advance existing
  5 23 bodies of work developed  through these efforts;  examine
  5 24 the health workforce from a systems=based approach and find
  5 25 solutions to the problems by bringing together stakeholders
  5 26 from education, health professions, hospitals, and government
  5 27 to build sustainable programs that solve the problems facing
  5 28 health care workers and employers through health care workforce
  5 29 innovations; coordinate recruitment, training, and retention
  5 30 efforts and serve as an incubator for new recruitment,
  5 31 training, and retention initiatives; and undertake other
  5 32 activities as necessary to assist in developing and maintaining
  5 33 a stable, well=qualified, diverse, and sustainable health care
  5 34 workforce which may appropriately address the broad spectrum
  5 35 of health care needs of Iowans across their ability level and
  6  1 throughout their lifespan.
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