WASHINGTON — Many Iowa healthcare providers have expressed concern that the recently-passed “One Big Beautiful Bill” will have a huge impact on their facilities because of Medicaid-related cuts costing billions of dollars over the next decade.
During a conference call this morning with reporters, north-central Iowa congresswoman Ashley Hinson says there are components of the bill that help rural Iowa hospitals. “By rooting out the waste, fraud and abuse in strengthening Medicaid, we’re actually making more resources available for vulnerable populations and the safety net providers like rural hospitals. I think that very clearly in this bill we were able to refocus and expand some protections for rural hospitals, providing that targeted funding to rural care, and then giving states the flexibility to support local providers through that process. Iowa does this really, really well. We’ve been a great model for how we do that.”
Hinson says she’s secured a lot of investments for improving healthcare delivery in Iowa through her role on the House Appropriations Committee. “ These are all areas where I continue to fight to bring those critical investments back to our rural communities to make sure Iowans have support and resources to take care of their families.”
The Iowa Hospital Association in a statement released after the Senate passed the bill says rural hospitals already operate on thin margins, and the Medicaid cuts will exacerbate their already strained financial situations. The statement adds that cuts of this magnitude will force hospitals to make tough decisions about reducing services or closing altogether.
