Community Members in Greenfield Speak Out on Rising Health Care Costs and Medicaid Cuts

GREENFIELD, IA — Community members, health care providers, and local advocates gathered Tuesday morning at The Gathering Place in Greenfield for a powerful and well-attended discussion on rising health care costs and the growing threats to coverage for Iowa families. The event, part of a greater effort to push back against recent federal health care cuts, brought together Iowans to share personal stories, hear from experts, and demand accountability from elected officials whose votes are driving up costs and putting care further out of reach.

Speakers and attendees highlighted how, over the past year, President Trump and Republicans in Congress, including Representatives Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, have voted to take health coverage away from millions of Americans while extending tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy. These policy decisions are already having real consequences in Iowa, where tens of thousands of residents are losing coverage and facing skyrocketing costs.

In Iowa alone, more than 100,000 people rely on Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage, coverage that was made affordable through tax credits that Rep. Zach Nunn refused to do anything about until they expired. He even went so far as to say that he wanted the ACA gone. Without those credits, tens of thousands of Iowans now risk losing coverage entirely, while many more are facing steep, unaffordable premium increases.

Medicaid, another critical lifeline, covers more than 600,000 Iowans. Yet Rep. Zach Nunn voted for sweeping cuts to the program, putting coverage at risk for tens of thousands and increasing the strain on rural hospitals and clinics already operating on thin margins.

At the same time, Nunn supported the largest cut in history to SNAP, threatening food security for tens of thousands of Iowa families, including children, and further compounding the economic pressure facing communities already stretched thin.

“Last year, my husband and I had more affordable health insurance thanks to ACA subsidies. But when those subsidies expired, our costs more than doubled,” said Jen, a woman from Adair county. “We had no choice but to switch to a private high-deductible plan, and now we’re paying around $2,200 a month, plus an additional supplemental plan just to protect ourselves in case of a catastrophic emergency. I had hoped Congress would renew the health care tax credits, but that didn’t happen, and it’s hard to believe help is coming anytime soon.”

Throughout the discussion, speakers emphasized that these outcomes are not accidental, they are the direct result of policy choices that prioritize tax breaks for billionaires and corporations over the needs of working families. Attendees also pointed to the growing influence of corporate interests in the health care system, noting that while the Affordable Care Act made important progress in expanding coverage, more must be done to rein in rising costs and ensure care is truly accessible.

The event concluded with a clear call to action: Iowans deserve leaders who will fight to lower costs, protect access to care, and put working families ahead of wealthy special interests.