Rob Sand Will Make Health Care More Accessible and Affordable for All Iowans
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – Tonight on the debate stage, Rob Sand is making the case for why he’s the only candidate in this race who will make health care more accessible and affordable for Iowans.
After a decade of one-party control, it has become harder for too many Iowans to get the care they need. Iowa ranks 44th in the country for physicians per capita, communities across the state are struggling to recruit and retain health care workers, and rural hospitals and clinics are closing at an alarming rate. At the same time, families are dealing with the rising cost of prescriptions, medical bills, and health insurance while Iowa’s privatized Medicaid system has reduced access to care for tens of thousands of Iowans.
“Every Iowan should be able to get good health care close to home and at a price they can afford. But after a decade of one-party control, Iowa is losing doctors, rural communities are losing health care services, and families are paying more for care,” said Deputy Campaign Manager Emma O’Brien. “Zach Lahn wants to continue Kim Reynolds’ failed privatized Medicaid system and, throughout his career, he worked to block Medicaid expansion for tens of thousands of people. Rob believes it should be easier for Iowans to access health care, not harder. As governor, he’ll work to keep providers in Iowa, protect rural hospitals and clinics, lower health care costs, and make sure quality care is within reach for every Iowan.”
As Iowa’s State Auditor, Rob’s office audited Iowa’s privatized Medicaid system and found a nearly 900% increase in illegal denials of care. Instead of forcing Iowa families and providers to keep fighting through unnecessary red tape, Rob will get started ending the privatization of Medicaid on day one as governor.
In his “A Healthier Iowa for All” and “Affordability for All” plans, Rob has laid out concrete steps to make health care more accessible and affordable. As governor, Rob would:
- End the privatization of Medicaid, which has prioritized profits over the health of Iowa families, reduced access to care for tens of thousands of Iowans, and has been an administrative nightmare.
- Ensure Iowans can use the pharmacy of their choice by cracking down on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) that force patients to use only certain pharmacies through backroom deals.
- Increase access to tele-health services by expanding insurance coverage for health care offered via tele-health at the same rate as in-person care for all care, and require audio services be covered as well.
- Reject culture wars that threaten further attacks on providers, make Iowa a less welcoming place to live, and threaten access to surrogacy, contraception, and IVF.
- Lower the cost of prescription drugs by establishing a Prescription Drugs Review Board to help Iowa negotiate lower prescription drug costs for life-saving medicine like insulin, and hold drug companies accountable by cracking down on price gouging.
- Offer a nonrefundable tax credit of up to $2,000 annually for caregivers, with an additional $1,000 for caretakers of veterans, to put money back in the pockets of family caregivers.
- Expand Iowa’s “Surprise Bill” law to cover all medical appointments and procedures from unexpected medical bills.
- Work with private-public partnerships to protect tens of thousands of Iowans from medical debt without costing taxpayers a penny. Rob would also support policies to remove medical debt from hurting Iowans’ credit scores to ensure this debt doesn’t hurt their ability to rent apartments, buy a car, or increase their insurance premiums.