DES MOINES –On Sunday, Iowans held rallies in Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Des Moines and Sioux City to voice their opposition to Republicans’ plans to overhaul healthcare. National Congressional Democratic Leaders, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and Bernie Sanders called for a national day of action to stand up against Republican attacks to privatize medicare, cut Medicaid and dismantle health care across the country. Iowans responded by gathering in four Iowa cities to make their voices heard.

Iowans spoke out in defense of Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act and provided personal stories and testimonials to let representatives know that they will not stand for privatized Medicaid and the dismantling of health care options that would kick hundreds of thousands of Iowans off their health care coverage.

Congressman Dave Loebsack echoed calls to action at a round table he hosted on Saturday. Congressman Loebsack encouraged Iowans to take action and reiterated that it was the job of representatives to listen to their constituents. “Amid concerns facing the future of our nation’s healthcare, I will continue to stand with Iowans and fight to ensure Americans have the affordable and quality healthcare they need and deserve. I was pleased to hear firsthand from those who would be directly affected. I will take the stories and concerns voiced today back with me to Washington and work with my colleagues on a plan of action to keep America on the right path forward.” said Loebsack.

Iowans worried about future of health care protest in downtown D.M.
Molly Longman // Des Moines Register
Ten years ago, Iowan Oakley Cadogan was sitting around the dinner table with her family when something started to feel off. Not long after, Cadogan, 40, of Ames, discovered she had a chronic condition called medullary sponge kidney, which would cause her to have kidney stones for the rest of her life and needed to be treated with medication. At the time, she didn’t have access to health insurance through her employer, making her focus less on the pain her condition caused and more on the expenses of medication and surgery. Cadogan told her story Sunday at the Des Moines Our First Stand rally, during which more than 100 demonstrators expressed concern about Congress’ move toward repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. “I’m not going to die from a kidney stone, but the pain is horrible,” Cadogan said into a megaphone at the rally. “I had many, many kidney stones pass, two surgeries. I ended up with a $10,000 surgery that I could not pay for because I did not have good health care or health insurance.” When the Affordable Care Act came along, it help Cadogan gain access to the kind of care she needed, she told the crowd. And losing that kind of care was a fear for many of the Sunday demonstrators.

Backlash Grows To GOP’s ACA Repeal Plan, Rallies Across Iowa Held
Iowa Starting Line
The first early signs of an electoral backlash against Republicans’ plans for 2017 started to show in Iowa and elsewhere today at rallies in support of the Affordable Care Act. Iowans worried about the future of their and their family’s healthcare and lives turned out in 30-degree weather and looming freezing rain in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs and Sioux City to urge Republican members of Congress to keep the ACA intact. The events had been organized in part by the Democratic Party, with Senators Chuck Schumer and Bernie Sanders taking the lead on it nationally. About 200 showed up outside the federal building in downtown Des Moines, where many attendees shared their stories of how the ACA had helped them.

Healthcare protests held outside of Congressmen Steve King’s Sioux City office
Bria Bell // KCAU-TV
As many as 75 protesters demonstrated outside the Sioux City office of congressman Steve King. The group is upset at King’s vote along with other congressional republicans to set the stage for a repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Many of those participating in the protest are worried they could lose their health insurance including coverage for pre-existing conditions. Some called it a life or death decision congress King is making and say repealing Obamacare without having another coverage plan in place could be hazardous to their health.

Downtown rally shows support for ACA
Chad Thompson // Fort Dodge Messenger
J.J. Jacobs, of Fort Dodge, credits the Affordable Care Act for helping her receive the medical treatment she needed at the age of 24. Jacobs was diagnosed with a condition that rendered her disabled in 2012, she said. “I was told I could no longer work, but because part of the Affordable Care Act stated that I could stay on my dad’s insurance until I was 26, I was able to remain covered until I became eligible for Medicaid.” Jacobs said without the insurance, the medication and treatments she required would have cost her $4,000 out of pocket. As Republicans inch closer to repealing the Affordable Care Act, citizens like Jacobs are worried about the future of health care in America.

Rallies against health care repeal held in 4 cities
Kay Henderson // Radio Iowa
The Iowa Democratic Party organized rallies in four of the state’s cities Sunday afternoon. The events were billed as a “first stand” against GOP efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Matt Tapscott of Decorah runs a child care business and Tapscott said he hadn’t been able to afford insurance until the law. “My elected representative said we’re working to ensure that you have access to health care,” Tapscott said during a rally in Des Moines. “It makes no difference that we have access if I can’t afford what I have access to. The Affordable Care Act made it possible that I could actually afford my health care.” Rick Smith of Urbandale said the law hasn’t just helped people with pre-existing conditions, it bans insurance companies from setting a yearly limit on spending on covered benefits. “We’ve got to remind all of our friends…that everybody has benefitted from this and will continue to benefit,” he said.

 

Worried Affordable Care Act Supporters Rally Outside Courthouse
WHO-TV
Last week the House and Senate approved a measure allowing the Affordable Care Act  to be repealed with only a simple majority, and the anticipated end of Obamacare sparked protests across the country on Sunday. The ACA is a law many Iowans rely on, and it provides coverage for approximately 20 million people nationwide. In Des Moines, people rallied outside the Federal Courthouse on Sunday to make their voices heard in support of the act. Several people were voicing their displeasure that Congress has moved to repeal the law without an alternative plan in place, while others were concerned with affordable birth control to help prevent unplanned pregnancy. For Madalyn Anderson, the fight is deeply personal. Her daughter had her own health insurance but was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 27. She is now in remission, but Anderson worries for the future.

Obamacare supporters may not have vote, but still have voice
Connor Morgan // KGAN
Republican-led Congress has taken its first step toward dismantling Obama’s signature health law, approving a budget resolution which could spell the end for the Affordable Care Act (ACA/Obamacare). While the bulk of ACA supporters don’t possess a vote in the matter, hundreds of eastern Iowans are expressing their displeasure with the current approach to addressing healthcare by repealing an insurance plan that provides coverage “20 million Americans.” Approximately 200 Obamacare supporters, from Democratic state senators and representatives to concerned citizens with debilitating diseases, braved the freezing temperatures Sunday afternoon, standing outside Republican Congressman Rod Blum’s office — and eventually marching several blocks to the Federal Courthouse where Senator Charles Grassley has an office — to show solidarity and express trepidation with the direction healthcare may be headed. “Millions of people will die when [the ACA] goes away,” said Jared Buntain, who made the 85-mile drive from Fairfield to share his story.

Siouxland residents show support for Obamacare
Ty Rushing // Sioux City Journal
“Don’t play with the ACA” was one of several chants used by supporters of the Affordable Care Act gathered outside the downtown Sioux City office of U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, Sunday afternoon. About 60 Siouxland residents armed with picket signs and petitions showed up outside King’s office as part of a series of nationwide rallies, including five in Iowa. People were asked to voice their support for Medicare, Medicaid and the ACA, also known as Obamacare. Outgoing President Barack Obama made the act, which expanded health care coverage nationally, a top priority during his first term in office. In recent weeks, President-elect Donald Trump and the newly Republican-controlled Congress have vowed to repeal the ACA, but have yet to present an alternative plan to replace it, something that troubled many of Sunday’s attendees.

People protest potential repeal of Affordable Care Act
KCRG
Sara Kissling owns The Sausage Foundry in Cedar Rapids with her husband. She has stage five kidney failure. The Affordable Care Act lets her get coverage with her pre-existing condition. It also helps her afford dialysis treatment and medical equipment. She says, “Without it I would have met my cap within maybe six months. I’d be dead right now anyway, because who can afford $30,000 per month in expenses.”

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