Health Care

Making Health Care Affordable, Accessible

Accessibility

  • Over the last decade, over 100 health care centers, clinics, and pharmacies have closed their doors

  • Between 2016-2017, the number of uninsured Iowans doubled (3.9% to 7.2%)

  • 3 million Iowans has a pre-existing condition

  • In 2017, GOP lawmakers rejected $3 million in federal funding for health care services like cancer screenings and birth control, leaving 14,600 Iowans without services

  • In 2018, eight labor/deliver units closed in Iowa hospitals while the maternal mortality rate has doubled in the last three years

Affordability

  • Since July 1, the price of over 3,400 prescription drugs has gone up and average of 10.5%

  • According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the price hike has led to 29% of U.S. adults not taking medication prescribed by their doctor because it costs too much

  • One type of insulin has increased 353% over the last 15 years causing patients to ration their insulin intake

Mental Health

  • One in five adults (600,000) suffer from some form of mental illness

  • Only 39% of Iowa citizens even have adequate access to mental health services

  • Governor & GOP lawmakers have closed three facilities and reduced services at two others that serve those struggling with mental illness

  • Lawmakers have reformed Iowa’s mental system and created a new mental health system for kids, but have not provided funding to actually deliver the services needed

Our Plan

Mental Health Services

Fund Iowa’s regional mental system so kids and adults can get the services they need

Lower Prescription Drug Costs

As prescription drug costs continue to rise, we need to stop pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) from overcharging the cost of prescriptions then reimbursing pharmacies at a lower rate to line their own pockets. #ialegis

Protect Iowans with Pre-Existing Conditions

Put new protections in Iowa law to guarantee that Iowans with pre-existing conditions can’t be denied health care

Expand Preventative Health Care for Children

Bring the 1st Five Program to all 99 counties in Iowa, which is an early detection and support system for social-emotional and developmental delays in children from birth to 5 years old. #ialegis