Iowa Republicans Vote to Raise Health Care Prices on the Backs of Hardworking Iowans

“Let’s be clear, folks, people don’t stop getting sick when subsidies disappear.” – Iowan Nicole Loew

Des Moines — Today, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Randy Feenstra and Ashley Hinson voted against extending ACA premium tax credits in their latest attempt to raise prices on working Iowans. 

More than 27 percent of Iowa farmers, ranchers and agricultural managers rely on the ACA, along with more than 14,000 small business owners and self-employed Iowans.  

In all, more than 117,000 Iowans will see their out-of-pocket health care premiums increase by an average of $501 this year because Republicans have failed to act.

“Representatives Ashley Hinson, Randy Feenstra, Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks sat idly by as ACA tax credits expired on January 1. They’ve already voted to cut Medicaid and Medicare, drive up costs for Iowans and put extra pressure on rural hospitals,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart. “It’s clear they’re more concerned about providing billionaires with tax breaks than they are about Iowans’ skyrocketing health care costs.” 

Before today’s vote, the Iowa Democratic Party gathered Iowans whose families and friends rely on the ACA and Iowa’s rural health care systems and let them tell their stories.

Iowans Nicole Loew, a PhD prepared nurse and cofounder of Women Centered Health from Chariton, Nick Larson, a farmer from Walker whose family relies on the ACA, and Lori Hunt, breast cancer survivor who needed the ACA after she lost her employer-provided health insurance explained why affordable health insurance is important to them and the communities they live in.

Watch the whole news conference by clicking here and entering the passcode: 0j&5$ztR

Here’s what they had to say: 

Nicole Loew: “Every vote, every budget line, every policy decision is an opportunity to make communities healthier or sicker, to reduce harm or allow it to continue, to support rural families or leave them behind. Because let’s be clear, folks, people don’t stop getting sick when subsidies disappear. They just become uninsured. And rural hospitals, which are already operating on razor thin margins, are paying the price because they have to absorb the cost of uncompensated care, and they simply do not have the bandwidth to do that. This isn’t complicated. When people can afford coverage, hospitals get paid, uncompensated care drops, and essential services stay in place for rural folks. And in fact, for many rural counties, the ACA was the difference between a hospital staying open or closing altogether.”

Nick Larson: “Our family purchases our health insurance through the ACA Marketplace. My wife and I are both retired from careers that we enjoyed for most of our adult lives. Those careers came with employer-provided health insurance. We are now focused on serving our community and our small business interests. I am encouraged by recent progress pushed forward by committed bipartisan legislators, and I’m asking our Iowa representatives to get on board with those efforts. I have personally lobbied Ashley Henson for almost a year on this issue, but she has largely ignored me. Her office knows the specifics of my personal situation down to the dollar. She has information to act on the best interests of her constituents if she chooses to vote in favor of the current bipartisan legislation.”

Lori Hunt: “I was able to get a really great policy through the ACA that fit my budget and with the enhanced premium test credits I was able to afford it, which is even better. …It’s really important for me to have that coverage and to keep it going, because 3 years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. After a whole series of testing, MRIs, ultrasounds, surgery, the whole thing. And, it was caught very early, and very treatable. But with that history, and with my family history as well, it’s important for me to keep up with my screenings and keep everything in check, right? … This is a simple thing that they can do, is to extend the credits and get back to work, and work on making healthcare more accessible and affordable for everyone.”

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