DES MOINES, Iowa — As the United States Senate passed the massive reconciliation bill on Tuesday, local officials’ concerns heightened as Medicaid cuts are just a vote away from being implemented into law.

The bill has work requirements and reduction in federal Medicaid spending, but a main concern is the added limitations of provider tax. Iowa utilizes the provider tax in the state program to leverage federal Medicaid dollars, meaning rural hospitals get more funding.

“When you talk about the impact of these potential cuts, once they’re fully implemented and we’re able to project, you know, ten years from the beginning of when these proposed cuts would start, we are talking about a loss of $3.5 billion to hospitals alone and talking about over $1 trillion total across the country,” said Chris Mitchell, president and CEO of the Iowa Hospital Association.

There are more than 700,000 Iowans enrolled in Medicaid, which is roughly 22% of the population. A good amount of those enrolled in Iowa live in rural areas. According to the American Hospital Association, the state would see a $2.666 million reduction in federal Medicaid spending on rural hospitals over the next decade.

“When you look at hospitals, particularly in rural areas, there aren’t a lot of levers to be pulled to help mitigate these cuts and we believe that hospitals will be forced into making very difficult decisions in the years ahead as a result of this,” said Mitchell. “It’ll be things like reducing staff, limiting services, stop delivering babies and ultimately they are going to have some tough decisions to make about whether or not they can remain viable and stay open in the longer term.”

Mitchell told WHO 13 News that Iowa’s Congressional delegation has varying opinions on the different aspects of the Medicaid cuts, as hospitals in rural areas are often times some of the largest employers in those communities. He added that he believes the potential impact of these cuts have been weighing heavily on Iowa’s elected officials.

Iowa News: