Democratic candidate Christina Bohannan emphasized a commitment to stabilizing rural health care if she’s elected to Congress in the Nov. 3 general election during a tour of rural health care facilities in southeast Iowa.
Bohannan, a Democrat from Iowa City and a University of Iowa professor, met with Jefferson County Health Center administration officials on Tuesday, June 16, on the fourth stop of her five-county tour of health care facilities and meetings with health care professionals.
Bohannan is challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District seat after defeating primary challenger Travis Terrell in the June 2 primary.
Bohannan has previously challenged Miller-Meeks, losing to the incumbent Republican by 801 votes in 2024. Bohannan also ran for the seat in 2022, and lost.
In her third run for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, Bohannan is a candidate in one of the most competitive districts in the country, with election forecasters, such as the Cook Political Report, rating the district as a “toss-up.”
National Democrats have also lasered in on the district as key to taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2027.
Rural health care has become a flash point in the upcoming election, with Democrats, including Bohannan, criticizing their Republican opponents for their support of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is set to make billions in Medicaid cuts. Three Iowa hospitals have been marked at risk of closing because of Medicaid cuts.
During the five-county tour, Bohannan met with officials to learn their ideas on how to stabilize and improve rural healthcare.
“I want to hear from as many people as I can on the ground, the people who are providing this care in every community around the district, to see what can I do,” Bohannan said. “What are the things that we can actually do that can make health care better and provide greater access, and more stability for hospitals and clinics that are providing this care?”
Jefferson County Health Center financial administrators say getting paid is the hardest part
Jefferson County Health Center administrators told Bohannan their Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rates are fair because they have several rural hospital designations that increase their reimbursement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
However, they find that getting paid for the services is the largest driver in its administrative cost burden.
“The amount of time, the amount of resources that goes into getting paid is much harder now than it has been,” said Joann Timm, Business Office and Revenue Cycle Director for Jefferson County Health Center.
A recent report by the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that three of the largest Medicare Advantage plan providers had the highest rates of denial of care for long-term care and rehabilitation in the nation.
Timm said that spending so much time appealing denials to get payment for services has increased the amount of staff time dedicated to getting payment for healthcare for the small health system.
Chief Financial Officer Brent Feickert said that by making sure the hospital gets paid, they also take care of the patient’s financial burden as well.
“This area, they’re bled to death already,” Timm said. “There’s no more for them to pay.”
Liam Halawith covers Johnson County local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. Reach him by email at lhalawith@registermedia.com. Follow him on X at @liam_halawith.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Bohannan vows to work to stabilize rural health care if elected
Reporting by Liam Halawith, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Liam Halawith, Iowa City Press-Citizen | USA TODAY Network
