The bill appropriates funds for the fiscal year 2025-2026 to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Health and Human Services, focusing on various programs related to veterans, aging, disability services, behavioral health, and public health. Key provisions include funding for the Iowa Veterans Home, the establishment of a new Veterans Service Organization Grant Program to support staffing for veterans' claims assistance, and significant allocations for aging programs and behavioral health initiatives. The bill also emphasizes the importance of matching funds for local agencies and includes specific amounts for health-related programs, such as dementia services and community health initiatives. Additionally, it introduces a new section (35A.23) to create the Veterans Service Organization Grant Program, ensuring that funds will not revert at the end of the fiscal year.

Moreover, the bill proposes changes to the personal needs allowance for residents of certain facilities, increasing it from fifty to sixty-five dollars per month, and mandates the development of a new reimbursement methodology for nursing facilities under Medicaid by April 2026. It also establishes a work group to forecast the need for nursing facility beds and outlines funding allocations for child protective services and state child care assistance. The bill amends various sections of Iowa law to ensure that certain appropriated funds do not revert at the end of the fiscal year, including those for rural psychiatric residencies and community access services. Additionally, it introduces new provisions regarding the autism support program, stating that no new applications will be approved after July 1, 2025, while continuing to provide services for existing eligible individuals.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 35A.23, 135C.1, 8.33, 123.17, 17A.4, 514I.5, 225D.2, 229.12, 125.2, 125.85, 229.1, 229.16, 229.14, 232.142