ONE YEAR LATER: Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn’s Big, Ugly Bill Remains Deeply Unpopular As Iowans Suffer

The DCCC made clear that a vote for this Tax Scam would be the defining vote of Miller-Meeks and Nunn’s races – and that fact remains the same one year later. Here is why:

• More than 106,000 Iowans will lose health coverage. Marketplace enrollment has fallen by 4.2 million people nationally, while an estimated 3.8 million Americans have lost Medicaid or CHIP coverage since the law took effect.
• Iowa hospitals and health care clinics have closed their doors and reduced services, directly citing Medicaid cuts.
  • In IA-01: MercyOne Clinton Medical Center announced they are ending their labor and delivery services, citing “issues with government funding, and policy changes to Medicaid and Medicare as reasons for the changes.” Henry County Health Center-Wayland Clinic closed down. Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center in West Burlington ended its birthing and delivery services.
  • In IA-02: Clinics in Traer and Mason City have closed down and laid off staff.
  • In IA-03: Four health care clinics have closed or will close their doors, directly citing Nunn’s Medicaid cuts in their decisionmaking. That includes MercyOne’s clinic in Ottumwa and the River Hills Community Health Center’s Centerville clinic, both serving rural Iowans. MercyOne closed two clinics in South Des Moines, and MercyOne has done several rounds of layoffs impacting workers in IA-03.
• Health care costs are soaring. Iowans have been forced to pay nearly 16% more for their monthly premiums in 2026 or abandon their plans altogether. Iowa also saw a 10% decrease in enrollment since last year when the ACA tax credits expired.
• This law benefits the richest of the rich – not regular American families. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the “poorest households will end up with roughly $1,200 less each year on average, while the wealthiest Americans will gain about $13,600.”
• Millions have lost access to food assistance. Enrollment has fallen by 8.9% in Iowa, with 23,630 fewer people in the state receiving nutrition assistance.
• The Big, Ugly Bill remains deeply unpopular. Recent Navigator polling shows the law underwater by 11 points in battleground districts and 18 points nationally, underscoring the political liability Miller-Meeks and Nunn face.

KEY TAKEAWAY: Miller-Meeks and Nunn can lie all they want, but Iowans see the truth because they feel the reality of the rising cost of health care, closing clinics, and the challenge of putting food on their tables.

DCCC Spokesperson Katie Smith:
“Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn passed the largest cut to Medicaid in history that is raising health care costs, closing rural clinics, and making it harder for Iowans to get by. Their vote put Washington ahead of Iowa and will be a defining moment why they lose this November.”

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