Rob Sand Visits Manning Regional Healthcare Center, Discusses Impacts on Cuts to Medicaid, Rural Hospitals

MANNING, IA – On Saturday, candidate for governor Rob Sand visited the Manning Regional Healthcare Center to hear directly from healthcare workers about how recently passed Medicaid cuts will affect Iowans’ access to health care, critical access hospitals, and the communities that rely on them.

“Last week, I held 14 town halls and folks were worried about the impact of these Medicaid cuts at nearly every one of them,” said Rob Sand. “Places like Manning Regional do so much more than provide care. They show up in emergencies, treat mental health needs, and serve as major employers. They’re the backbone of rural Iowa, and that’s why these cuts are so dangerous. They don’t just affect one place or one program – they put every single hospital in our state at risk. But it’s not just about getting help in emergencies. When care gets harder to reach, families leave, jobs disappear, and we lose more of the health care workers we’re already struggling to keep. If we want strong, growing communities, we have to protect what holds them together.”

Sand’s visit came just days after every one of Iowa’s federal representatives voted for a bill that will kick over 106,700 Iowans off their health insurance, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation Minority. The same legislation places nearly 350 rural hospitals at risk of closure across the country, including MercyOne Medical Center in Newton, which had already shut down its labor and delivery unit in October 2024, leaving Jasper County without a single labor and delivery center. Families are now forced to travel out of town to give birth, furthering Iowa’s maternity care shortage.