As chairwoman of the Senate Health & Long-Term Care Committee, Sen. Karen Keiser (D-Des Moines) played a leading role in the passage of several health-care measures during the past legislative session.

She has labeled the 59-day session as "fast, furious and extremely productive."

One of the Legislature's major breakthroughs was forging a compromise on medical malpractice, according to Keiser, who outlined some of the session's primary accomplishments during a meeting with the Times/News editorial board last week.

State voters wisely turned down competing initiatives from trial lawyers and physicians last fall, she said.

"This has been bouncing around for years," Keiser noted.

The compromise sets up a voluntary arbitration system to settle malpractice disputes.

The Legislature also approved state assistance to small businesses that will help them provide health care insurance for low- and moderate-income workers.

"We are not subsidizing high-flying, high-income high technology companies," Keiser added.

Another "favorite little bill" stemmed from Keiser's experience with her daughter's hospital stay.

That legislation requires hospitals, when discharging patients, to provide information on the types of hospital and other bills they may be receiving.

Although her daughter was admitted to a hospital in the state, Keiser reported, "we were receiving bills from providers in California. It was goofy.

"(The Legislature) didn't solve the whole problem," she added. "We have a long ways to go on information technology in health care."

Another new program will help the state health department work with local health districts to deal with a pandemic flu epidemic.

Local health agencies, especially in rural counties with lots of birds, are too under funded and under staffed to effectively handle an outbreak of avian flu, she noted.

Keiser also dealt with several controversial subjects in her meeting with Times/News editors, including another "major" legislative breakthrough -- the passage of a "Gay Rights" bill that prohibits discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation.

"It's been bouncing around for 30 years," Keiser observed.

Defending the 2006 supplemental budget, supported by majority Democrats despite charges that overspending by the Legislature will turn a large surplus into a deficit by next year, Keiser noted, "We passed a balanced budget with $1 billion in reserves."

She admitted that in supplemental budget years, the Legislature normally does not add large amounts of spending.

"But we have crises in mental health and nursing homes," Keiser declared. "We spent more than usual but we have been in a recession.

"You must pay the piper eventually."

Keiser also downplayed the amount of voter fraud occurring in the state.

She said most of the voter names purged from the rolls recently by Secretary of State Sam Reed were people who had moved and were registered in two places or women who had married and were listed by both their maiden and married names.

"Cases of voter fraud are miniscule," Keiser declared. "More of a problem is that we do not have enough voters."

Reacting to President Bush's recently announced plan to send National Guard troops to patrol the Mexican border, Keiser said the solution is to have a well-trained, well-funded U. S. Border patrol.

"We also have to look at the whole system of 'wink, wink and nod, nod employment" of illegal immigrants, Keiser added.