DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Lawmakers in the Iowa Senate have approved legislation that will establish a task force to study breast tissue density. The bill passed unanimously Wednesday and will move to the state House for review. It replaced legislation which would have required breast density data be included in mammogram reports to patients and physicians. Instead, under this plan, the state will set up a task force to review how best to educate patients and doctors on this issue.

Experts say dense breast tissue can make it harder for a mammogram to catch a possible tumor and may increase the risk of breast cancer. But some doctors say this kind of notification could needlessly worry women and the state should leave such matters to physicians.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A review by an independent consultant says the $1.3 billion in reserves held by Iowa’s dominant health insurer is “reasonable and prudent” for now.  Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart hired Risk and Regulatory Consulting, LLC, to review whether Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield had the right amount of customers’ money in reserves.

Its report released Wednesday says Wellmark is holding an appropriate amount given the risks the company faces. The report says a smaller future surplus might be needed if the insurance market stabilizes following full implementation of federal health reform.

Some Democratic lawmakers, including gubernatorial candidate Jack Hatch, demanded an investigation into Wellmark’s reserves, contending much of that money should be returned to policyholders. Wellmark provides coverage for more than 2 million people in Iowa and South Dakota.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City woman says she’ll think of her husband this weekend as she drives to Omaha in a car stuffed with hundreds of stuffed bears and other animals. Kerry Ruehl and her children will take more than 500 bears to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where her husband Mike “Bear” Ruehl was treated for cancer at times over a dozen years. He died Feb. 6 in Omaha at age 60. For his funeral, the family asked that people bring a stuffed animal.

Kerry Ruehl tells the Sioux City Journal that during her husband’s treatment, they watched sick children in strollers or pulling their IVs. They didn’t think it was fair.  She thought this was a way her husband, who loved working with children, could continue spreading cheer.