Congressman Bruce Braley says “very good progress” is being made on reform plans that he says will ultimately increase the payments Iowa hospitals and doctors get for providing care to elderly patients. For decades Medicare, the government-paid health care program for the nation’s elderly, has paid Iowa health care providers less than those located in the nation’s large urban centers.

“Taking into account of all the challenges that are faced with putting together comprehensive studies and a national summit, I feel like we’re making very good progress on moving the ball forward on all of the components of what we negotiated with the administration and Secretary Sebelius,” Braley says.

Braley,a Democrat from Waterloo, met this morning with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Sebelius announced she’s commissioned the first of two Institute of Medicine studies to chart a plan for basing Medicare reimbursement rates on the quality of care rather than where the care is provided.

Braley is also pressing to get Iowans on a new, 15-member national board that’s charged with evaluating what services Medicare pays for, and how to cut costs. Braley suggests the Iowans could show the country’s urban health centers how to do things more economically.

“We’re going to be working very hard to try to identify people, hopefully from Iowa, for the Independent Payment Advisory Board who have a deep understanding of how these inequities existed for so long and making sure that we’re placing great emphasis on getting the best quality care for the lowest possible cost,” Braley says. “And Iowans have demonstrated a strong leadership role in making that happen.”

Each of the 15 members of that new board would serve six year terms, after they win confirmation to the post in the U.S. Senate. The board will have broad powers and it will be hard for the president or congress to make changes in the board’s recommendations.

Congressman Bruce Braley is supporting a bill that would require corporations to disclose how much they spend on political campaigns. The bill has been drafted in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision which opened the door to unlimited corporate spending on elections.

The legislation would require corporate C-E-Os to appear in campaign ads, similar to how candidates say, “I approved this message,” in radio and T.V. ads. Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, says congress has an “obligation” to respond to the court decision.

“Voters increasingly are demanding transparency in how money is spent in political campaigns,” Braley says. “They want us to try to lessen the influence of corporate lobbyists and foreign money in elections and I think that’s what the DISCLOSE Act is designed to do.”

DISCLOSE stands for “Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections.” A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate, backed by Democrats. The House bill Braley’s backing also has the support of two Republicans. “It should be the type of issue that is nonpartisan,” Braley says. “We all want to make sure that elections are fair, that they’re not subject to undue influence to excess spending by foreign corporations and foreign nationals and we want to make sure the voters know who is funding the ads that are being used in political campaigns.”

The House bill would prevent corporations like Boeing that are government contractors from spending money on elections. Any company that received bailout money would be prevented from spending money on elections, too. That means neither G.M. nor Bank of America would be able to buy ads or contribute directly to candidates to try to influence the outcome of elections.