NEW MEDICAID RULES TAKE HEALTH CARE AWAY FROM IOWA CANCER PATIENTS

As Iowa Faces One of the Nation’s Highest Cancer Rates, Miller-Meeks and Nunn’s Medicaid Cuts Threaten Coverage for Patients Fighting Serious Illness

DES MOINES, IA — As Iowa continues to face one of the highest cancer rates in the country and remains one of the few states where new cancer cases are still rising, newly announced Medicaid rules stemming from the Republican Tax Law are putting cancer patients and other seriously ill Iowans at greater risk of losing their health coverage.

The Trump administration’s new guidance will make it significantly harder for patients to keep their coverage, even during treatment. The changes follow Republican-backed Medicaid cuts in Congress, supported by Iowa Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn, which were used to finance tax breaks for billionaires and wealthy corporations.

For Iowa, the stakes are especially high.

Iowa has one of the highest cancer incidence rates in America, and the state’s aging population means more families are confronting cancer diagnoses, chronic illness, and other serious health conditions every year. In Iowa, where more than 600,000 people rely on Medicaid and tens of thousands of Iowans could lose coverage as eligibility rules tighten and fewer patients qualify for exemptions. 

Hospitals and clinics are already struggling in the state, with many closing or facing cuts to services provided. At the very moment that Iowans need reliable access to health care, Republicans are moving forward with policies that could make it harder for some of the state's sickest residents to keep the coverage they depend on.

Medical experts and patient advocacy organizations across the country have sounded the alarm. 48 national patient organizations representing people with cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and other serious conditions warned that the new rule could dramatically increase coverage losses among vulnerable patients.

Becky from Norwalk, spoke about how critical health coverage was during her own cancer battles.

"I've fought cancer twice: breast cancer in 2016 and thyroid cancer earlier this year. The difference that health coverage makes is impossible to overstate. Before I qualified for Medicare, my first breast cancer surgeries left me with significant out-of-pocket costs at a time when my focus should have been on getting healthy. When I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer this year, Medicare covered my treatment and allowed me to focus on recovery instead of worrying about medical bills. Cancer is hard enough without our representatives making it harder to access care. No one fighting a serious illness should have to worry about losing the coverage that could save their life."

The new Medicaid rule is currently open for public comment until the end of July before being finalized. Iowans are urging their congressional delegation to push back on the proposal and protect access to care for patients with serious medical conditions.

“Cancer patients should be focused on treatment, recovery, and spending time with their families, not wondering if their health coverage will disappear,” said Mazie Stilwell, Executive Director of Progress Iowa. “Reps Miller-Meeks and Nunn helped create this crisis when they voted to slash Medicaid to fund tax breaks for billionaires. They should be fighting to protect Iowa patients, not defending policies that put lifesaving care further out of reach.”