CEO Of Washington County Hospital Says Rural Facilities Risk Closure Due To Cuts

Iowa City, IA – Yesterday, on the 60th anniversary of Medicaid, Christina Bohannan spoke with Todd Patterson–CEO of WCHC–about the threats facing rural health care. The pair discussed not only the loss of coverage for over 100,000 Iowans, but the sweeping effects these cuts will have on costs and health care access at large.

“I have traveled every corner of southeast Iowa, and I have seen firsthand that our smaller Iowa hospitals have been struggling for years,” said Bohannan. “These Medicaid cuts could be the final straw that forces them to close, reduce staff and beds, or cut vital services.”

She continued, “Because of Rep. Miller-Meeks’ Medicaid cuts, 350 rural hospitals across the country are at risk of closure, and many more will have to decrease or downgrade services. In our district, hospitals in Washington County, Jasper County, and Lee County among others could be seriously affected, and these are just the ones I have heard about so far. Nearly a quarter of nursing homes will have to close, and around half will have to decrease the number of beds available… Rep. Miller-Meeks did all of this – all of it – for one reason: to make way for massive tax cuts for billionaires.”

Read Bohannan’s full statement here.

Todd Patterson’s op-ed for The Green Gazette is available here.

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Iowa’s 1st Congressional District contains the cities of Davenport, Iowa City, Burlington, and Indianola. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks faces a rematch against Christina Bohannan, who came within 0.2% of defeating the incumbent in 2024. Bohannan lost by just 799 votes out of 413,000 and outperformed the top of the ticket by over 8 points – more than any other Red-to-Blue candidate in the country. National forecasters, including the Cook Political Report, universally rate this district as a Toss-Up for 2026. With Rep. Miller-Meeks showing historic weakness at just 31% favorability and facing growing opposition even within her own party, Bohannan has the best opportunity to flip a Republican seat in the country.