“Higher Costs and Fewer Options”: Iowans Speak Out Against Health Care Cuts in Ottumwa
DES MOINES – On Monday, Iowans in Ottumwa gathered for the first stop of the Iowa Democratic Party’s “Decade of Denied Care” Tour at a clinic that closed due to Randy Feenstra’s vote to gut Medicaid and put rural hospitals on the chopping block. Speakers called out Kim Reynolds’ Medicaid mismanagement, Feenstra’s health care cuts, and how Iowans’ health care has suffered under a decade of one-party rule.
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KYOU: Closures and reduced services raise healthcare concerns in Ottumwa
- This building used to be where hundreds of families went to get medical care. Now it sits empty. And not too far away, another clinic has reduced services, and some residents say that emptiness is costing people their lives.
- “Hospitals and clinics, just like the one behind me, are closing their doors. We all know that when our schools close … When our hospitals close, and when our local services are shut off, rural communities die.”
- KYOU reached out to Governor Reynolds’ and Congressman Feenstra’s office for comment. As of this newscast, neither has responded.
KTVO: Iowa Democratic Party begins “Decade of Denied Care” Tour in Ottumwa
- The [Democratic] party says the series of Iowa-based events are meant to highlight how a decade of one-party [Republican] control has led to worse health outcomes for Iowans.
- Many gathered at a recently shuttered health care clinic in Ottumwa, which closed in February after federal cuts to Medicaid left it and several other rural hospitals on thin ice.
- Attendees called out Governor Kim Reynolds, U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra, and many other Iowa leaders for what they’re calling a collaborative effort to make health care less accessible.
Ottumwa Radio: Local candidates & activist slam Republicans for clinic closing, reduced health care services
- Kolton Jones, a Democrat candidate for Representative District 25, is a local health care worker who says the shuttering of [a health care clinic] in Ottumwa led to consequences for numerous patients. “This clinic was utilized by many. I’ve seen firsthand the anxiety that this closing has caused. People are concerned about where they’re going to go for their health care services, and this leads to patients having to take longer drives for routine and basic human services.”
- Each of the speakers, including [state Senate candidate] Brenda Case, blamed Republicans for privatizing [Medicaid] 10 years ago and said the closure and reduction of services were exacerbated by the Big Beautiful Bill passed by Congress last year. The result, Case said, has been higher costs and fewer options.
- Former educator and local activist Mary Stewart shared a personal story in which she and her husband regularly leave Ottumwa and, in some cases, the state of Iowa to receive care.
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