Iowa Senate Democrats ask Gov. Reynolds to speak out against potential Medicaid cuts

Two Democratic state senators - some of Iowa Medicaid's most vocal advocates - are urging Gov. Kim Reynolds to petition Iowa's pair of Republican senators to oppose any federal legislation that could jeopardize dollars for the Medicaid expansion.

In 2011, Iowa's Republican and Democratic state legislators worked together to expand the Medicaid program through the Iowa Health and Wellness program, which gave insurance to an additional 150,000 low-income adults. That - along with individual health care plans offered through the Affordable Care Act exchange - helped push the state's uninsured rate down from 8.1 percent to 5 percent.

'That's why we ask you to stand up for Iowa the way other Republican and Democratic governors have stood up for their states,” wrote Sens. Liz Mathis, D-Cedar Rapids, and Amanda Ragan, D-Mason City.

The two state senators pointed to comments made by Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval - both Republicans - about the necessity of the Medicaid expansion to help their states most vulnerable populations. Medicaid expansion also has reduced the levels of charity care at hospitals, the senators wrote.

'The cost of unpaid charity care in Iowa could again reach the billion-dollar-a-year level it had reached before the Medicaid expansion,” Mathis and Ragan wrote. 'This would increase the price of health insurance generally and be especially harmful to hospitals and health care providers in Iowa's rural communities.

'If Medicaid is cut significantly, rural health care providers could be forced to close. That would have a devastating effect on patient access to health care and would be a major blow to the continued viability of Iowa's small towns.”

The governor's office said in an email that, 'While Washington works through its differences, Gov. Reynolds is focused on advocating for a stopgap measure to protect 72,000 Iowans from losing coverage.

'Obamacare is unaffordable, unsustainable and unworkable. It's led to premiums increasing 110 percent, and it's collapsing before our eyes. The governor hopes Congress and the president are able to come together on a plan to cover Iowa families while bringing down those skyrocketing premiums.”

The stopgap would give consumers age- and income-based tax credits, as well as use a reinsurance mechanism for costly medical claims.

'Governor Reynolds, we urge you to speak up in defense of Iowa families, Iowa health care providers, Iowa jobs and the state budget. Specifically, we urge you to contact Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst as soon as possible. Encourage them to speak out publicly against health care changes that would devastate Iowans and the Iowa economy,” the two senators wrote.

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