Republican leader says the legislature will discuss insurance affordability

Two years ago, the Republican-led Iowa Legislature cut taxes for insurance companies to try to keep the industry here and entice more companies to expand in Iowa. Now, the top Republican in the Iowa House says the 2004 Iowa Legislature will spend time discussing ways to help Iowans who’re finding it tough to afford insurance. House Speaker Christopher Rants, a republican from Sioux City, says there’s growing concern about the affordability of health insurance and lawmakers will investigate ways to help small businesses afford to provide health insurance to their employees. Rants says Iowa is a small insurance market, and it limits the number of choices Iowa consumers have when it comes to finding an affordable policy. Rants says Iowans are concerned about losing their health insurance. Rants says he has no specific proposals to unveil yet, but lawmakers are gathering ideas on the topic.