Rural Health Care: A County in Crisis

Tuesday, around 80 Iowans gathered in Ottumwa to hear from community members, health care providers and others impacted by the closure of MercyOne’s Ottumwa clinic and discuss the state of health care in Wapello County and rural Iowa. 

Representative Zach Nunn voted for the Republican Tax Law that included disastrous cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, and put rural hospitals at risk of closing. Congressman Nunn recently said that he wants to eliminate the ACA entirely, which would put further strain on hospitals’ budgets and cost Iowans even more, even though he recently acknowledged hospitals are a critical component to strong communities. All of these cuts were made in order to fund permanent, massive tax breaks for billionaires and large corporations at the expense of Iowans. Patients of the Ottumwa MercyOne clinic closing in Nunn’s district are being directed to Centerville, an hour drive from Ottumwa, turning an appointment into a strenuous multi-hour event. 

Peter, a retired physician, said that Republicans in Congress need to be held accountable for their actions to cut health care. 

“All of Iowa’s congressional delegation voted for the Republican Tax Law, which is a disaster,” Peter said. “It will cause harm to Iowans, it has caused the final financial blow to our MercyOne clinic along with layoffs in Des Moines. The parent organization is going to lose $1.5 billion in the next few years, so they are making cuts. That’s not good health care, that’s not good policy, it’s not even good politics. We need to hold our elected leaders accountable for these actions.”
Fairness for Iowa put up digital ads over Valentine’s Day, calling out Nunn for the clinic closure and MercyOne layoffs in Des Moines.