Protect Our Care Iowa Discusses New Report Detailing Republican War on Health Care

Today, Protect Our Care Iowa held a press conference to discuss a new report kicking off Protect Our Care’s March Madness campaign, which highlights how Representatives Hinson, Feenstra, Nunn & Miller-Meeks are turning their backs on the American people and gutting health care coverage to give the ultra-wealthy another tax break. 

In the first year of Trump’s second term, he and Congress have skyrocketed premiums, raised out-of-pocket costs and slashed Medicaid funding, forcing working families to choose between health care and other basic necessities. Thanks to Republican premium hikes, 22 million Americans, including 24,000 Iowans, will lose their health care coverage entirely this year alone, including small business owners, farmers, and older adults. Due to the Republican Tax Law, 10 Iowa hospitals and clinics are closing, have already announced cuts, or are at risk of closure. 

As a direct result of these attacks on health care, hospitals and nursing homes will continue shuttering, Iowans enrolled in Medicaid risk losing coverage and prescription drug prices will soar. Nearly 14,000 Iowans have already lost their Affordable Care Act coverage during this year’s open enrollment period. Nationally, 27% of all farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers get their insurance from the individual marketplace. Speakers addressed how these health care cuts harm Iowans and hold Trump and his allies accountable for gutting vital, popular health care programs that Americans across the political spectrum depend on.

Jill Kordick, a rural health care professional and ACA recipient in Rep. Miller-Meeks’ district is experiencing an over tenfold increase in her health care premium. She said that her representative’s actions in Washington are having real consequences for herself and her community. 

 “Today, we’re going to pay higher premiums and deductibles and we delay care. Tomorrow, we’ll see worsened health care outcomes, taxes rising, and even higher costs across our health systems impacting communities,” Kordick said. “We all pay these consequences, whether it’s today or tomorrow, or when we least expect it. It’s not just a health care issue, it’s one of critical economic importance to Americans and our communities.” 

Kordick recently traveled to D.C. and said that when she tried to speak with Rep. Miller-Meeks, she was ignored in an act of poor leadership. 

Seth Watkins, an ACA recipient and farmer in Southwest Iowa, said that he believes these cuts to health care are not only bad policy, but bad business as well. 

“To see our elected officials say they want to lower the national debt and then give a multi-trillion dollar tax cut to the wealthiest individuals while pushing the burden to the working middle class and actually increasing the debt is beyond disappointing,” Watkins said. “It sends a really loud signal to me about how totally out of touch our leadership is. Unless we’re going to be a society that says we’re going to literally turn away sick people that need treatment, this isn’t going to work.” 

You can watch the full event here, and learn more about Trump’s all-out assault on health care here.