DES MOINES, Iowa – Today, Governor Reynolds signed a bill that threatens to repeal Medicaid expansion – putting critical health care for more than 180,000 Iowans at risk. This law will do grave harm to the health and well-being of our state. Iowa Medicaid serves as a lifeline for many workers, veterans and our rural hospitals.
Medicaid expansion, also known as the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan, has been a lifeline for thousands of Iowans, providing access to essential health care services like cancer screenings and ensuring that our most vulnerable residents are not left behind. Repealing or substantively changing Medicaid expansion would serve to strip health care from thousands of state residents, leading to economic stress and diminished health outcomes for many. Repeal of Medicaid expansion coverage will increase uncompensated care costs, shifting the financial burden to hospitals, taxpayers, and businesses, disproportionately affecting Iowa’s rural communities.
In addition, the bill creates new barriers to accessing health care by implementing work reporting requirements. Medicaid work reporting requirements do not improve employment rates. Increasing red tape for enrollees will result in qualified individuals losing their health care coverage. These additional burdens amount to cuts to coverage that would put thousands at risk.
What’s more, tying the future of Medicaid expansion to work requirements that have repeatedly been overturned by federal courts jeopardizes the health and well-being of many families at risk, undermining years of progress. Uninsured Iowans are more likely to forgo needed care or preventative services, which can lead to higher rates of chronic disease with expensive and disabling complications.
Iowa has the 2nd highest cancer rates in the country and our cancer rates continue to rise year over year. This cut to Medicaid expansion will plunge our state deeper into this cancer crisis. Iowa lawmakers must do better.
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The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is making cancer a top priority for public officials and candidates at the federal, state and local levels. ACS CAN empowers advocates across the country to make their voices heard and influence evidence-based public policy change as well as legislative and regulatory solutions that will reduce the cancer burden. As the American Cancer Society’s nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, ACS CAN is critical to the fight for a world without cancer. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.