(Radio Iowa) – The last bill to clear the legislature this year gives Iowa’s insurance commissioner authority to collect more data about companies called pharmacy benefit managers. Critics say P-B-Ms are driving small-town pharmacies out of business, while the industry says P-B-Ms are helping to control prescription drug costs. Pharmacy Benefit Managers are companies hired to administer prescription drug benefits provided by large employers, insurance companies and Medicare Part D.

Two months ago, the Iowa House unanimously voted for a series of safeguards for pharmacies and consumers. This week Iowa Senate voted to scale some of that back. For instance, Republican Senator Mike Klimesh, of Spillville, says the bill no longer ensures any Iowa pharmacy can apply to be part of networks that serve customers with prescription drug insurance. “What’s left in the bill, the bulk of the bill is a regulatory framework giving the insurance commissioner more latitude for rulemaking, to start to gather additional information,” Klimesh said, “so it helps us in our policy crafting process in years to come.”

Representative Brian Best, a Republican from Carroll, says more must be done to exposure the secretive conduct of P-B-Ms. “This is a situation where if we don’t do more than this, we are going to lose our pharmacies in small towns,” Best says. “Small town pharmacies are part of rural Iowa. In some blocks, it’s about all there is left sometimes and if we lose that, we’re losing everything.” Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver says a nationwide policy would be better, but congress has been unable to act, so lawmakers in states like Iowa are trying to come up with solutions.

“You have the pharmacists on one hand. You have PhARMA on another, you have the PBMs, you have insurance companies, you have the employers and so to try to find a balance is what we’re trying to do, which is control drug prices, is very difficult,” Whitver says. “I think the bill we passed in the end will allow us to continue to work on that issue.”

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, pharmacy benefit managers process about 75 percent of all prescriptions filled in the United States. All but four states have passed laws that regulate P-B-Ms in some fashion.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s Attorney General has reached a settlement in A lawsuit with a company in an “Iowa One Call” violation that resulted in death. The Marion County suit alleges M-C-S Communications failed on six occasions to call first when digging to install fiber optic cable in Pella in 2020. A company crew hit an electrical line with a jackhammer, resulting in the electrocution of two employees and the injury of a third in August of 2020.

Other excavations damaged natural gas pipelines and a telecommunications line. M-C-S admitted to the violations and agreed to pay a 10-thousand dollar civil penalty in addition to injunctive relief prohibiting future violations.

(Updated 5/26) (Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education, Wednesday evening, discussed the upcoming Trojan Summer Experience, an elementary / middle school academic and enrichment program. But before they did so, Superintendent Steve Barber spoke on Tuesday’s tragic events in Uvalde, Texas.

In discussion with regard to the Trojan Summer Experience, which focuses on nutrition, academics and enrichment. Mr. Barber said last November, Administrators went to the Building Leadership Team (BLT), said 20-percent of the District’s ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds (approx. $400,000) needs to be spent over two-years, on lost learning opportunities in summer situation-type activities, after school.

He said they then explained their plan to the School Improvement Advisory Committee (SIAC).

ACSD Communications Specialist Mallory Robinson, he said, has worked to put the program together. The program runs four weeks, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30, four days per week throughout the summer. The Board, Wednesday, approved a list of four Certified Teachers, 23 Paraeducators and at least one bus driver, to take care of 200 students who are currently enrolled in the program.

Mallory Robinson said in speaking with interested teachers, it was clear there they didn’t want to make the summer experience a “standard classroom feel.” It will incorporate hands-on learning.

She says they sent out information to parents, and the response was so great that there were 68 registrations within 24-hours.

The program will serve current students in grades K-through 7 and incoming grades 1-through 8 that are enrolled. Their day will begin at Schuler Elementary School for breakfast. The older students will stay there, while the younger group will walk up to the Washington School, after breakfast and return to Schuler for lunch.

In other business, the Atlantic School Board approved the resignation of Middle School Teacher/Librarian, Deb Burton, and contract recommendations for: newly certified coach Bodie Johnson, as 9th Grade Baseball Coach; Jill Dodson, Kindergarten Teacher; Mary Jensen, HS Business Education Teacher, and the aforementioned Trojan Summer Experience personnel.

They also approved the purchase of a 12 +1 student, handicap-accessible school bus, from the Adair-Casey/Guthrie Center Community School District, in the amount of $74,000. The bus will be accepted and paid for after June 1, 2022, so as to not impact the certified budget. As a reminder: Today is last day of school for Atlantic students. An End-of-Year reception/employee recognition will be held May 27th at 8:30-a.m., with refreshments at 8-a.m.   Superintendent Barber said they will honor seven employees who are retiring, and who have a combined 178-years of teaching experience.

The School Board concluded their meeting, Wednesday, with a closed session for Mr. Barber’s annual evaluation.