Ernst shows contempt for Iowans

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst couldn’t take the heat at a town hall meeting in Parkersburg last week as Iowans demanded answers about a Republican plan to cut Medicaid health coverage by $700 billion over the next decade.

House GOP members approved a budget blueprint that cuts Medicaid as part of an effort to deliver $3.8 trillion in tax relief — a massive windfall for mainly wealthy Americans.

Town hall attendees made it clear to Ernst that they believe the bill will cut much-needed health care to low-income Iowans. As Ernst tried to dismiss their concerns, a woman, India May, the director of the Ionia public library and a registered nurse who currently serves as a death investigator for Chickasaw County, called out to the senator.

“People are going to die,” May shouted.

“People are not … well, we all are going to die,” Ernst responded, making the audience even angrier. “So, for heaven’s sakes. For heaven’s sakes, folks.”

Ernst followed up with a video “apology.”

"I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth," she said. "So, I apologize. And I’m really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well.

"But for those that would like to see eternal and everlasting life, I encourage you to embrace my lord and savior, Jesus Christ," she added.

Callousness plus sarcasm equals a lot of outraged Iowans.

Her shouting critic, of course, meant that under Medicaid cuts, people are going to die sooner without health coverage for conditions that can be treated. It’s an entirely legitimate concern, but Ernst didn’t get it.

Republicans, including Ernst, have spun tall tales to defend the proposed cuts.

She told the audience that 1.4 million illegal immigrants are on Medicaid. Undocumented immigrants are ineligible. That number likely accounts for state-funded programs covering immigrant children and pregnant moms. The bill would penalize states for offering that help.

Undocumented Immigrants can only access Medicaid for emergency care, with money reimbursing hospitals. It’s a tiny share of the budget.

Republicans have cited other statistics arguing they’re only cutting waste, fraud, and abuse, and that a work requirement is needed because millions of able-bodied people are on Medicaid without working. Neither estimate has withstood scrutiny.

What Republicans are doing is changing the eligibility process, with the likely effect of pushing eligible people out of the program. The bill would also cut funding to states, leaving their leaders to decide between cutting eligibility and spending loads of state money. Smaller hospitals will have to determine if they can remain open with reduced Medicaid funding.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 10.9 million Americans will be left without health insurance under the bill. Medicaid serves nearly 700,000 Iowans, including kids. It’s estimated that 56,000 or more would lose coverage.

So, Medicaid cuts are bad news for Americans and Iowans. Ernst should care more about struggling Iowans than rich people’s taxes. We didn’t send her to Washington to be a partisan shill and ignore the best interests of her constituents.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com