Gazette Daily News Briefing, June 20
This is Stephen Colbert from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for Tuesday, June 20th, 2023.
Today’s weather will be sunny and hot with a high near 91. Tonight will be clear with a low around 64.
Kim Reynolds announces nearly $150 million in broadband funding
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced nearly $150 million in funding for broadband development Monday, focused on areas with the highest need for high-speed internet.
The latest round of the Empower Rural Broadband Grant Program will make available up to $149 million for qualified broadband projects in underserved areas. Funding for the projects will come from the 2021 federal American Rescue Plan Act.
“Iowans deserve access to reliable, fast broadband,” Reynolds said in a news release. “Reliable internet connections are needed to live, work, and raise a family. This investment in infrastructure gets us one step closer to providing easy internet access to all Iowans.”
Unlike previous broadband funding opportunities, these grants will be focused on 96 “Broadband Intervention Zones” around the state — areas that have been identified as having a critical need for broadband access. The zones were identified using feedback from dozens of public meetings, the governor’s office said in the news release.
University of Iowa hospitals raise rates again 6%
As it has done annually for years, the Board of Regents last week approved a University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics across-the-board 6-percent rate increase in health care services starting next month — the highest allowed in many UIHC contracts with insurance providers.
“Given UIHC’s low charge levels, it would be reasonable to increase charges more than 6 percent,” according to a UI request. “However, given the cap on charge increases in many of its contracts, it is most prudent to cap the increase proposal to 6 percent.”
Compared with peer academic institutions, officials told the board, UIHC rates are “relatively low.” UI peer institutions include the universities of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin — all of which have affiliated hospitals and health care systems.
“UIHC charges are below the 50th percentile of academic medical centers,” according to the request.
A comparison tool produced by the Iowa Hospital Association, however, shows UIHC — the state’s only academic medical center — is more expensive than most in Iowa for many services.
Court decision on student loans will affect thousands of Iowans
Tens of thousands of Iowa student loan borrowers are awaiting a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt.
The court is weighing a challenge brought by six Republican-led states, including Iowa, arguing the plan is unconstitutional, and is expected to decide on the lawsuit by the end of the month.
If the U.S. Supreme Court allows the loan forgiveness to go through, student loan borrowers without a Pell Grant would get up to $10,000 taken off their loan balance, while Pell Grant recipients would see up to $20,000 forgiven. The executive action is expected to cost around $400 billion.
According to the White House, 264,000 borrowers in Iowa applied or were deemed automatically eligible for relief as of January, before the program was halted by an appeals court panel. There were 169,000 fully approved applications. The White House estimated more 430,000 Iowa borrowers were eligible when the plan was announced.
Regardless of the decision in the federal case, student loan interest will resume Sept. 1, and required payments will resume in October. Iowa borrowers have an average of around $30,000 and hold a combined $13.2 billion in student debt, according to educationdata.org.
