Yesterday, CMS Administrator Dr. Oz visited an Iowa children’s hospital with Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-02) to promote Trump and Republicans’ big, ugly bill that ripped away over $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Dr. Oz claimed that these cuts “will not have any impact on hospitals until next year.” The reality? Dr. Oz is lying through his teeth as hospitals across the state struggle to stay afloat and Iowa families worry about losing access to the health care providers they depend on. Iowa hospitals are expected to lose billions in Medicaid and ACA funding due to the cuts. Hospitals and clinics across the state are already announcing closures, with some explicitly citing cuts to Medicaid.
SHOT: Oz Claims Largest Health Care Cuts In History Passed By Trump and Republicans “Will Not Have Any Impact on Hospitals” This Year. During his visit to Iowa, Dr. Oz claimed that GOP health care cuts “will not have any impact on hospitals until next year. None. And in many states [it] doesn’t really have much of an impact until ’28.”
CHASER: Iowa Hospitals, Clinics, and Providers Are Losing Billions. Some, Citing GOP Medicaid Cuts, Are Already Closing. Iowa hospitals are expected to lose $8.9 billion in Medicaid funding and $16 million in ACA funding due to the Trump-GOP cuts. The Rural Health Transformation grant will hardly cover 10% of that funding gap, and the GOP’s big, ugly bill offers no distribution mechanism to ensure that hospitals and clinics losing the most funding will receive the grant funding. Across Iowa, hospitals and clinics are folding under the weight of Trump and the GOP’s massive $1 trillion cut to Medicaid. Just look at the headlines:
- Des Moines Register: Medicaid Cuts Could Close 400 Rural Hospitals. 3 in Iowa Are at Risk.
- KMA: Pending Medicaid Cuts Close Iowa Health Clinic
- Iowa Starting Line: Centerville Clinic to Close in July Amid Growing Rural Healthcare Concerns
- Public News Service: Pending Medicaid Cuts Close Iowa Health Clinic
- Des Moines Register: MercyOne Des Moines Announces Layoffs, Cites Federal Cuts