Title: Medicare Cuts: Impact on Iowa Jobs and Economy
Content: So, there’s this report from some private, independent research firm that’s all about healthcare stuff. They’re going on and on about what might go down in Iowa if Congress decides to go ahead with these deep cuts to Medicaid.
Rachel Nuzum, the big shot senior vice president of policy at the Commonwealth Fund, is blabbering about how some U.S. House Republicans are thinking of slashing $880 billion from Medicaid. You know, that public health insurance thing for the low-income folks.
“Like, 673,000 people in Iowa are on Medicaid, which they call Iowa Health Link,” Nuzum goes on. “It’s like the lifeline for kids to see doctors, old folks to afford meds, and families to get the care they really need. Almost 38% of Iowa kids are on Medicaid.” And get this, about half the folks in nursing homes there are on Medicaid too.
If Congress goes through with these cuts, this research firm says it could mean almost a million jobs lost across the country and a $95 billion hit to state economies next year. Nuzum adds that in Iowa alone, we’re talking about a loss of $865 million in economic activity, over 33,000 jobs down the drain, and a $177 million drop in state and local revenue.
Now, Congress is thinking of changing up how Medicaid is funded. They might decide to tweak the matching rates for folks covered under the expansion. Because Iowa expanded Medicaid, there are like 250,000 adults who might be affected by this change. They could also make people work more to be eligible for coverage.
The State of Iowa is all begging the Trump Administration to let them slap a work requirement on some of the adults on Medicaid. Governor Kim Reynolds is all about pushing these “able-bodied” adults under 65 to work for their government-paid insurance. They want at least 100 hours of work every month.
But Nuzum is like, “Listen, these changes are going to be hard for a lot of people.” Once you give folks benefits, it’s tough to take them away. And, she points out, we already have a shortage of healthcare workers in rural areas. Hospitals are barely keeping their heads above water as it is.
So, Medicaid isn’t just about health care, it’s a big deal for the economy too. Just something to think about.
