| New reporting from CNN highlights the fallout from Zach Nunn’s votes to gut Medicaid and slash funding for rural health care, specifically noting the closure of MercyOne Ottumwa and multiple rounds of MercyOne layoffs.
CNN reports that the Big Ugly Bill “contributed to MercyOne…deciding to close its clinic in Ottumwa and lay off dozens of staffers.” MercyOne told CNN that “‘the recent and future government funding policy changes’ are expected to reduce its annual revenue by $1.5 billion.”
Retired Dr. Peter Reiter, who spent four decades serving patients in Ottumwa: “The number of people who were former patients or just acquaintances who said, I go to MercyOne. What am I supposed to do? Where do I go? How do I get a doctor? And I don’t have an answer.”
Julie Lawrence, an Ottumwa resident and a patient impacted by the MercyOne closure: “You know, I’m in the elderly category. I’m 68, and I would just like to stay in my hometown. So, you know, if you don’t feel good, you don’t want to have to drive half an hour.”
DCCC Spokesperson Katie Smith:
“Zach Nunn slashed rural health care funding, forcing MercyOne Ottumwa to close its doors. Actions have consequences: Iowans are feeling the direct impact of Nunn’s betrayal and will fire him in November.”
Read more:
CNN: Hospitals are making cuts after ‘big beautiful bill,’ fueling Democrats’ midterm attacks
- …in Iowa, a Des Moines hospital system laid off dozens of employees and closed a clinic.
- All these providers cited President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic policy agenda package, which slashed more than $1 trillion in federal support for health care, as a factor in their decisions.
- The legislation, known as the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” is expected to leave millions more Americans without coverage and to cut vital financial support for hospitals – a combination that could force already cash-strapped providers to pull back on services and staffing, leaving patients with fewer places and longer waits for care, particularly in emergency rooms.
- The GOP package also contributed to MercyOne, which has 21 medical centers and multiple clinics across urban and rural Iowa, deciding to close its clinic in Ottumwa and lay off dozens of staffers.
- MercyOne is part of Trinity Health, which said in a statement to CNN that “the recent and future government funding policy changes” are expected to reduce its annual revenue by $1.5 billion.
- That is forcing it to make changes “to ensure long-term sustainability and future growth,” including cutting positions in its billing and collections department by 10.5% across Trinity Health.
- Retired Dr. Peter Reiter, who spent four decades serving patients in Ottumwa, reacted to the closure of the MercyOne clinic there, saying that “this is not the way that’s best for patients and not the best for providers.”
- “The number of people who were former patients or just acquaintances who said, I go to MercyOne. What am I supposed to do? Where do I go? How do I get a doctor? And I don’t have an answer,” he said.
- Julie Lawrence, an Ottumwa resident and a patient impacted by the MercyOne closure, shared her frustration with the disruptions.
- “You know, I’m in the elderly category,” she said. “I’m 68, and I would just like to stay in my hometown. So, you know, if you don’t feel good, you don’t want to have to drive half an hour. I mean, I can, but I don’t really want to.”
- Like St. Mary’s in Georgia, the MercyOne closures in Iowa are playing out in competitive midterms contests, with affected locations in the battleground 3rd district.
- GOP Rep. Zach Nunn is seeking reelection there after winning in 2024 by just under 4 points, and his leading Democratic challenger, Sarah Trone Garriott, has focused her criticism on his vote for the “One, Big Beautiful Bill Act” and its changes to Medicaid.
- “It’s a bad time for health care here in Iowa’s 3rd congressional district, and it’s Zach Nunn’s fault,” Trone Garriott said in a social media video. “First MercyOne announced they were closing their Ottumwa clinic because of federal Medicaid cuts. Now MercyOne Des Moines is announcing layoffs this March, because again, federal Medicaid cuts.”
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