Last Monday, the Iowa Senate passed Senate File 75, requiring a county that has the main campus of a Regent university in it to use districts to elect supervisors. This bill would provide a more accurate representation of the demographic that truly represents the area.

The Iowa Senate passed SF 277, making several adjustments and clarifications to the chronic absenteeism policy passed last year. This bill gives schools more flexibility in addressing this issue while continuing to focus on ensuring students are in the classroom.

The Senate also passed SF 295, authorizing the demolition and sale of the Wallace State Office Building. Since its opening in 1978, the Wallace building has consistently required an outsized level of maintenance and repair. Authorizing the demolition of an inefficient and unnecessary office building makes government smaller and more efficient.

Affordable health care is one of the issues we hear about often. Senate Republicans took one step last week to bring more transparency to health care costs and put more power back in the hands of patients.

Senate File 319, the Patient’s Right to Save Act, requires all health care providers disclose the discounted cash price it will accept for specific health care services. The discounted cash price shall be available to both insured and uninsured individuals. Health care providers are also required to issue an itemized list of services received for cash payment. The bill also establishes a savings incentive program that permits covered individuals who met their deductible to receive half the price between the discounted cash payment and the negotiated price or medically necessary covered health care services.

The goal of the bill is to give patients the ability to compare prices, bring more competition to the industry and help address the rising costs of health care. On average, cash payments are 50 to 70 percent cheaper than the negotiated private insurance rate. So often in government, policy solutions to the price of health care either make it more expensive or reduce access to care. This policy creates transparency and introduces free market principles into an industry in need of more market incentives to lower costs and improve services.

The bill passed on a bipartisan vote of 47-0 and now goes to the House of Representatives for their consideration.

State Sen. Tim Kraayenbrink, R-Fort Dodge, represents Calhoun, Pocahontas, Sac and Webster counties.