Iowa Democrats Kick Off “Decade of Denied Care” Tour in Ottumwa
52 Iowans in Ottumwa were laid off due to Republican health care cuts
DES MOINES – Today, the Iowa Democratic Party kicked off the “Decade of Denied Care” Tour in Ottumwa, a series of events across Iowa during Medicaid Awareness Month highlighting how the last decade of one-party control has led to worse health outcomes for Iowans.
Iowans impacted by health care cuts gathered at the MercyOne clinic, which closed in February because of Randy Feenstra’s vote to gut Medicaid and threaten rural hospitals. They called out Kim Reynolds’ Medicaid mismanagement after a decade of privatized Medicaid that has resulted in thousands of denials, Feenstra’s health care cuts, and how health care has suffered under a decade of one-party rule.
“This empty clinic was my doctor’s office … The Republicans’ Big Bad Bill hit me hard. Now I’m 63 years old, retired, and I have no health insurance. I don’t deserve that,” said Brenda Case, an Iowan and Senate District 13 candidate who lost her health care due to Feenstra’s vote to gut Medicaid. “Republicans like Randy Feenstra and Zach Nunn voted to ruin [health care]. I have had enough. The Republicans have had a trifecta in both state and national government for more than long enough to fix this. They didn’t do it.”
“In 2021, I suffered a stroke. While some types of specialty care are available in our community, waiting lists are long, and travel is almost always required,” said Mary Stewart, an Ottumwa resident who has trouble getting care in a health care desert. “With the cuts to Medicaid, it’s only getting worse. Hospitals and clinics like the one behind me are closing their doors. It’s past time for our state legislature and this administration to acknowledge the problem, and to acknowledge that the lack of access and lack of financial affordability are costing people’s lives.”
“We need representatives who will fight to protect health care so rural Iowans can have access to quality medical care and won’t have to stress about driving an hour away for basic care,” said Kolton Jones, paramedic and House District 25 candidate. “The solutions are not difficult. We need to take health care away from for-profit companies. We need to find ways to incentivize bringing and keeping health care professionals in rural communities.”
The Republicans running for governor support this health care disaster:
- Randy Feenstra voted to pass Reynolds’ disastrous Medicaid privatization scheme in the state legislature, which drove up costs, ripped away health care, hurt Iowans with disabilities, and closed rural hospitals.
- In Congress, Feenstra bragged about being a “key author” of his party’s deeply unpopular budget law that threatens health care for 110,000 Iowans and puts at least 23 rural hospitals on the brink of closure, as 117,890 Iowans are seeing their premiums skyrocket.
- Adam Steen praised D.C. Republicans passing the largest Medicaid cut in history and Reynolds privatizing Medicaid, saying “I support everything that Governor Reynolds is doing.”
- Zach Lahn has a history of opposing Medicaid expansion entirely — a position even more extreme than Reynolds’ disastrous privatization scheme.
- Brad Sherman and Eddie Andrews voted to kick thousands of Iowans off Medicaid and made it harder to get health insurance.
###