Ashley Hinson

Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Josh Turek criticized his Republican opponent, Ashley Hinson, over her vote for the "One Big, Beautiful Bill" at a campaign event in Des Moines.

Turek said the law, which is the centerpiece of President Donald Trump's legislative agenda, is causing Iowans to lose their health care and clinics to close.

Hinson has touted the law's tax cuts on tips and overtime pay.

Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Josh Turek is criticizing Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson's vote for the "One Big, Beautiful Bill" ahead of the law's anniversary in July.

At a health care roundtable in Des Moines on Monday, June 22, Turek called the law "the largest Medicaid cut ever."

"It’s been almost a year since Ashley Hinson voted for the Big, Beautiful Bill, which cut health care for more than 100,000 Iowans and further strained an already crumbling system in a state with a severe health care crisis," Turek said.

Turek, a state representative from Council Bluffs, and Hinson, a U.S. representative from Marion, secured their parties' nominations in the June 2 primary election and will face each other in the Nov. 3 general election. Libertarian Thomas Laehn is also on the ballot.

The contest to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst is expected to be competitive — and the federal law is likely to be a major issue on the campaign trail.

"I'm going to talk a lot about it, because I think it is one of the most egregious examples of what she has done in her time in D.C.," Turek told reporters following the event.

At the roundtable, Turek said several health care centers in Iowa have announced closures, elimination of units or a reduction in services in the year since the legislation was signed into law.

"Many of these clinics see cuts coming their way and know they just can’t survive," he said. "I mean, honestly, as we’ve been talking with these CEOs, they will tell us Medicaid is the absolute lifeblood for these rural health care clinics."

The closing clinics include MercyOne facilities in Ottumwa and on the south side of Des Moines. The company cited federal funding and policy changes to Medicare and Medicaid that reduce reimbursements to hospital systems in its statement announcing the closure of the Des Moines clinic. Other medical providers have expanded or opened new clinics.

Hinson has touted her vote for the bill, which is the centerpiece of President Donald Trump's legislative agenda in his second term. Trump celebrated the law's passage last year at a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, joined by Hinson and the rest of Iowa's Republican congressional delegation.

The law cuts federal Medicaid spending by about $911 billion over a decade and makes additional cuts to spending on food assistance programs. It also extends tax cuts from Trump's first term in office and includes new tax cuts on tips and overtime pay.

Hinson held a roundtable in Ankeny in May with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, speaking to Iowans who said they benefitted from the law's tax cuts.

"Ashley understands that health care is too expensive for Iowa families. That’s why she’s working across the aisle to lower costs by taking on Big Pharma and Big health insurance," communications director Billy Fuerst said in a statement. "Ashley worked with both parties to deliver millions in funding for health care access and cancer research. She passed bipartisan legislation to end stillbirths and is leading the charge to make birth control available over the counter at local pharmacies. While Josh Turek plays politics with Iowans’ health care, Ashley will keep working to expand access and lower costs for Iowa families.”

Turek, who was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair, said his personal experience has taught him firsthand the importance of access to high quality health care.

He is campaigning on reversing the Medicaid cuts and restoring lapsed Affordable Care Act subsidies, which he said have increased health care premiums for nearly 120,000 Iowans. He is also calling for a public health insurance option.

"I am someone that believes that health care is a human right," Turek said. "When I’m in the United States Senate, I’m going to do everything that I can to fight for a public option because I believe that every single Iowan, every American, deserves access to quality health care."

The roundtable with Turek included doctors, ICU nurses and a pharmacist, who talked about Iowa's health care workforce shortage, the lack of care in rural Iowa, prescription drug prices, the state's Medicaid privatization and more.

State Rep. Austin Baeth, D-Des Moines, an internal medicine doctor who works at a primary care clinic, said he's seen patient visits drop 10% to 15% since Republicans allowed enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies to lapse.

"I know that fewer patients on my schedule isn’t because people are healthier," he said. "It’s because they don’t have the health insurance to come see me anymore. And those are folks who end up on the doorstep of our ERs and create even more expensive care and add even more cost to the entire health care system."

Several Iowans participating in the roundtable spoke about the difficulty rural Iowans face in accessing health care.

"Health care, it shouldn’t be a tourist industry," said Brad Magg, a co-owner of Spring City Pharmacy in Colfax who is running for the Iowa House as a Democrat. "But yeah, it is."

Gov. Kim Reynolds announced on June 18 that Iowa would use millions in federal funding to expand physician residency programs at the state's 13 teaching hospitals, which will eventually support 128 additional residencies.

Reynolds also announced federal awards directed to caner, rural health care workforce and equipment. The money comes from the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Fund included in the "One Big, Beautiful Bill," which is intended to offset the impact of the law's Medicaid spending cuts.

Hinson thanked Reynolds for the funding on June 19 in a social media post.

"I’ll keep fighting for federal resources to improve health care for Iowa families and ensure opportunities to stay & work in Iowa are strong," she said.