logo
Iowa democrats urge against the Big Beautiful Bill

Iowa democrats urge against the Big Beautiful Bill

Yahoo31-05-2025
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — Iowa democrats are calling on republicans in Washington to vote against the Big Beautiful Bill, saying it would be devastating to Iowans on Medicaid.
More than 700 thousand Iowans receive Medicaid; nearly half are children.
Advocates say many hospitals, particularly in rural Iowa, could also be forced to close labor and delivery services, sending soon-to-be moms hundreds of miles for care.
Story continues below
Top Story: UnityPoint Health to acquire MercyOne Siouxland
Lights & Sirens: Sioux City Police Department: Deadly March stabbing justified
Sports: Local Iowa high school boys soccer playoff highlights and scores (5-29-25)
Weather: Get the latest weather forecast here
They also say hospitals will have to start picking and choosing what services they want to offer.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, nearly 94 thousand Iowans would lose health insurance if the bill passes.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Illinois Dems flock to Springfield for Governor's Day at State Fair
Illinois Dems flock to Springfield for Governor's Day at State Fair

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Illinois Dems flock to Springfield for Governor's Day at State Fair

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WGN) — Top Democrats worked on their messaging at the Illinois State Fair on Wednesday ahead of the midterm elections. The annual party chairs brunch and fair gathering, dubbed Governor's Day, provided a platform to vent, with U.S. House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries in attendance as the brunch keynote speaker. 'Crashing the economy is something bad. Destroying Medicaid, as you know it, is something bad,' Jeffries said. 'Taking a chainsaw to Social Security is something bad. Raising costs on hard-working American taxpayers is something bad.' Wednesday also served as an opportunity for Illinois Democrats to shine a spotlight on top candidates for U.S. Senate, like Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, and Congresswoman Robin Kelly. And while the Illinois primary election is seven months away, that didn't stop state Democrats from taking shots over campaign funding. Stratton has pledged not to take corporate PAC money, while Krishnamoorthi and Kelly have received such donations. 'I'm blessed to have tens of thousands of individual donors who have supported me and the reason is simple: they believe in our mission,' Krishnamoorthi said. 'A lot of people who say they don't take corporate money—and I'm talking about some of my colleagues,' Kelly said. 'They don't take corporate money, but they take the money I raise, so it's laundered through me.' Stratton is backed by billionaire Gov. JB Pritzker, who insiders believe will boost the Lt. Governor's campaign coffers down the homestretch. 'I want to make sure that I'm centering the voices of Illinois families and not corporate special interests,' Stratton said. That's a distinction.' Thursday will be Republican Day. While they control the White House and Congress, the Republican Party is currently a super minority struggling to recruit candidates for key races. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Indiana families are fighting a FSSA change. A federal appeals court just ruled in their favor
Indiana families are fighting a FSSA change. A federal appeals court just ruled in their favor

Indianapolis Star

time5 hours ago

  • Indianapolis Star

Indiana families are fighting a FSSA change. A federal appeals court just ruled in their favor

A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of two medically fragile children from Indiana and their families who are fighting changes made by the state Family and Social Services Administration to a Medicaid waiver program. Indiana Disability Rights and the ACLU of Indiana filed a lawsuit last May alleging that the state's changes to its Health and Wellness Medicaid Waiver program, which impacted parents who were providing paid care to medically complex children, went against the Americans with Disabilities Act. The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on Aug. 11 affirmed a district court's prior preliminary injunction in favor of the families who sued. "As the district court concluded, plaintiffs have a high likelihood of succeeding on the merits of their ADA claims," according to the 50-page opinion. "Further, we find no abuse of discretion in the district court's balancing of the equities or its assessment that the public interest is best served by preserving plaintiffs' access to medically necessary care and enforcing federal antidiscrimination law." The decision doesn't apply to the whole state. It means that, for now, the two families can continue to serve as paid providers of "attendant care" for their children, according to a press release from the ACLU. Indiana Disability Rights said in a statement that the court's decision recognized the likelihood that parents would have to make an "unthinkable" decision of placing their child in an institution. 'This decision reinforces the understanding that children with complex medical needs are best served when they can remain at home with their families," said Sam Adams, senior attorney for Indiana Disability Rights. "The court found that there are steps that FSSA can and must take to help ensure these children remain safely in their families' homes.' The lawsuit stems back to the state Medicaid office's discovery in late 2023 that there was a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall, leading it to seek cost-cutting measures. The agency decided it would no longer pay for parents or spouses to care for elderly or disabled loved ones, which is the program referred to as "attendant care." FSSA later moved to a new model that pays service providers a flat daily rate and passes on some of that money to families who care for people. But the new model amounts to a steep pay cut, according to those families. The appeals court decision was, at times, scathing toward the state's arguments in the case. "To state FSSA's argument is to refute it," the decision reads at one point. At another point, the opinion states that the state has "offered only doomsday predictions" that are "difficult to reconcile with the state's apparent willingness to spend the same amount of money or more on other home-based services or to institutionalize plaintiffs and other waiver enrollees." The FSSA didn't immediately reply to IndyStar's request for comment about the impact of the federal court decision.

Proponent of Medicaid cuts set to brief House Republicans as they plot another megabill
Proponent of Medicaid cuts set to brief House Republicans as they plot another megabill

Politico

time6 hours ago

  • Politico

Proponent of Medicaid cuts set to brief House Republicans as they plot another megabill

Those staff-level meetings continue as House GOP leaders try to plot a way forward amid skepticism over whether another sprawling domestic policy bill is even possible given the difficulties Republicans had coming to agreement over the first one. House leaders discussed the topic with GOP chairs right before the chamber left for August recess, according to two Republicans granted anonymity to discuss the private gathering, tasking them with compiling lists of possible spending cuts and other ideas. What policies might be addressed in a second package is far from settled, though some House GOP factions are discussing further slashing Medicaid as well as possibly targeting Medicare funding. Blase was allied with conservative hard-liners earlier this year in pushing for significant cuts to Medicaid in the first GOP package. He was the initial author of a letter arguing for 'structural' changes to the program that Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and 19 other hard-right members later sent to their House Republican colleagues. An RSC spokesperson declined to comment on Thursday's briefing. But a person granted anonymity to discuss plans in advance said the meeting is set to cover enhanced tax credits for Affordable Care Act health insurance premiums, which are due to expire at the end of the year, as well as rules governing the percentage of Medicaid expenditures covered by the federal government and reimbursed to states. The briefing will also cover the 340B drug discount program; proposals to even out Medicare payments for outpatient services, known as 'site neutral' payments; plans for expanding tax-advantaged Health Savings Accounts for medical expenses; and arrangements that allow employers to reimburse employees for insurance premiums and medical expenses with pre-tax dollars. Blase, who did not respond to a request for comment, served on the White House National Economic Council during Trump's first term. He and other conservative health wonks launched Paragon in 2021, and it has rapidly gained influence in GOP policy circles. Former Paragon staffers are now top health aides to Speaker Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store