Rural Iowans already have numerous challenges to overcome when it comes to health care coverage and access and decisions made by Iowa Republicans have exacerbated this problem.
Representative Steve King consistently voted to gut the Affordable Care Act, which expanded rural Iowa’s access to health insurance, making it easier for Iowans to afford care. At the same time, he has vociferously supported an Administration whose instability and active attempts to sabotage affordable health care have caused premiums to skyrocket.
Budget cuts under the Reynolds-Branstad administration, including the closure of fourteen medical and mental health facilities, have particularly affected rural communities. These facilities have been shut down due to a lack of funding from the state and private health insurers. Five of these facilities were closed because of the privatized Medicaid program.
Rural providers were already few and far between, but many of them now find it unsustainable to accept Medicaid, a program used by the significant low-income rural population, thanks to Reynolds’ Medicaid Privatization disaster.
“You look at what’s happening down in Des Moines with the privatization of Medicaid that has really hurt this district and Iowa, and you look at the absolute mess Steve King and the current administration have made in D.C., stripping protections for people with pre-existing conditions – it’s obvious that Iowans can’t trust our current leaders to tackle our health care problems,” said 4th District Congressional candidate J.D. Scholten. “Come November 6th, if you want affordable, accessible health care the choice is clear: vote for Democrats up and down the ballot.”
“I know through my work that the system is not working. It’s failing patients every day. Fourteen medical and mental health facilities have closed due to a lack of funding while remaining facilities have waited up to nine months for reimbursement for services that have already been delivered,” said local health professional Carter Smith.
He continued “People will die if this program continues as is. We need real ethical leadership in Des Moines and in Washington. We need to elect people like Fred Hubbell, Rita Hart, J.D. Scholten, Jackie Smith, Tim Kacena and Democrats up and down the ticket.”