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Feb. 2, 2025 |  By: Mark Moran - Public News Service

Report: Threatened Medicaid cuts would hurt rural Iowa kids most

children

By Mark Moran - Public News Service

Advocates for young Iowans worry proposed federal cuts could affect families who rely on Medicaid for their health care.

A new national report argued the number of kids covered by the program is already heading in the wrong direction. The Georgetown University Center for Children and Families said nearly 4.2 million fewer children were enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program by the end of 2023, as states cut their Medicaid rolls when pandemic-related assistance programs ended.

Anne Discher, executive director of the advocacy group Common Good Iowa, said proposed cuts, projected to be as much as $2.5 trillion, would have an especially damaging effect on Iowa's rural kids.

"Thirty-nine percent of kids in rural areas are covered by Medicaid compared to adults," Discher reported. "Whereas about 17% (of people) in rural areas are covered by Medicaid. "

The report showed Iowa ranks 22nd in the nation for the number of kids covered by the program.

She stressed proposed cuts could sever the only access many Iowa kids have to staying healthy.

"Medicaid is health insurance," Discher emphasized. "It's really what unlocks the door for kids so that they can go see a doctor when they're sick. They can get well child care. Their parents can get medications when they need them or they can go to the hospital without parents having to choose between their health or buying groceries or paying the rent."

Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, said Medicaid should have been an issue in the November election but was ignored.

"There was complete silence about it, despite the fact that it is the largest source of public coverage by far in the United States," Alker observed. "It's also a very popular program with the voters of all political stripes."

Alker added the cuts will impact rural areas hardest, not just in Iowa but nationwide.