(Radio Iowa) – A key lawmaker says Senate Republicans will propose that most Iowans receiving government-paid Medicaid insurance coverage work, be looking for a job or be training for one. Republican Senator Mike Bousselot of Ankeny says the incoming Trump Administration is likely to be more willing to grant Iowa a waiver for this work requirement. “Health care in Iowa — it’s important that people have it, but it shouldn’t be something that keeps people in poverty,” Bousselot says. “Getting people job training and having them seek a job while they’re receiving free health care from taxpayers I think is a common sense proposal that incentivizes getting back to work, incentivizes job training and also makes sure the safety net exists, that they have health care while they’re down on their luck.”

Senator Mike Bousselot, a Republican from Ankeny, will be chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee in the 91st Iowa General Assembly, which convenes January 13, 2025. (RI file photo)

Senate Republicans have made similar proposals in the past, but the work requirements for Medicaid coverage were not proposed for Iowans with disabilities or a parent with young children. The first Trump Administration granted waivers to several states that sought to require able-bodied citizens to work or be enrolled in school, but federal courts and then the Biden Administration blocked the policy from taking effect. Bousselot says there’s an opportunity to revisit the issue once Trump returns. “A common sense administration in Washington that’s going to work with us instead of attack us,” Bousselot said.

Bousselot made his comments after speaking at a forum organized by the Greater Des Moines Partnership. The group represents chambers of commerce in 11 counties, including (in this area) Adair, Dallas, Guthrie, and Madison.