Cuts could harm health care

As the legislators in the state Capitol have passed the first funnel deadline, it’s important to consider the impacts proposed legislation will have on all Iowans.

To put it in perspective, 38% of Iowa’s population lives in a nonmetro area. That means 1.2 million people (38%) reside in our small towns and communities across our state. They seek care in our 212 Rural Health Clinics, 83 Critical Access Hospitals, and 56 rural Federally Qualified Health Centers clinic sites.

As budgets at the state and federal levels continue to be scrutinized, the proposed federal cuts to Medicaid, there would be severe impacts on an increasingly fragile health care systems. Forty-one percent of the births in Iowa are covered by Medicaid. 38.7% of children in Iowa are covered by Medicaid and 50% of our nursing home residents are covered by Medicaid.

Iowa’s hospitals already operate at very small margins. The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform estimates that 20 rural Iowa hospitals are at risk for closing, including 5 at immediate risk for closing. Cutting a major source of coverage will cause additional financial hardship and further exacerbate access issues.

This legislative session, Gov. Kim Reynolds has championed several rural health initiatives. She has proposed additional funding for loan repayment programs and an enhanced partnership with Iowa’s teaching hospitals to create new residency slots. To address the maternal health crisis, the Governor’s Rural Health care bill will unbundle Medicaid payments and increase rates for those who are taking care of moms and babies.

We appreciate the governor’s recognition of the importance of taking care of rural Iowans. Rural health care is the backbone of our rural communities. When rural Iowans are healthy, our communities flourish. Cutting critical programs is not the way to provide our most vulnerable residents with the freedom to flourish or make Iowa healthy again.

Steve Simonin of Clarion is the President of the Iowa Rural Health Association.