Iowa mother whose sons are on Medicaid shares concerns about changes at the federal level
Jonna Higgins-Freese says her two sons have been sick since birth and rely heavily on Medicaid.
Jonna Higgins-Freese says her two sons have been sick since birth and rely heavily on Medicaid.
Jonna Higgins-Freese says her two sons have been sick since birth and rely heavily on Medicaid.
An Iowa woman invited to Capitol Hill last week to testify at a hearing about the impact changes to Medicaid on the federal level could have spoke with vlog about her concerns.
Jonna Higgins-Freese says her two sons, Reuben, 19, and Henry, 17, have been sick since birth and rely heavily on Medicaid.
The majority of Medicaid changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act come from eligibility changes and should not impact her son. However, some provisions could impact funding sources for Medicaid at the state level, which is where, for some people, there's a sense of uncertainty.
"We don't know yet what the impact of the Medicaid cuts will be on our family specifically," said Higgins-Freese. "They are just a lot of unknowns."
Higgins-Freese told vlog she worries about how the OBBBA will impact her sons. She says her oldest lives in a group home that's funded in part with Medicaid and also SNAP and Social Security.
Before living at the group home, Higgins-Freese says Medicaid paid for respite care when her son was living at home.
"The respite worker would take my son to a baseball game with Nanna and Grandpa," said Higgins-Freese. "They could help do his meds and feedings. They could play Uno with him and we could pay attention to our other son, or frankly, just sit down for a minute without paying attention to meds and feedings every single second of the day."
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the OBBBA will cut federal spending on Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program benefits by $1.02 trillion.
vlog reached out to members of Iowa's Congressional delegation Friday.
Republican Congressman Zach Nunn spoke with vlog Friday afternoon.
"Anyone with a disability will be protected under this bill. Any mother will be protected under this bill," said Nunn. "Anybody who is a senior will be protected under this bill. I think that's really important because these are the folks right here in Iowa, we know who need these assistance programs, whether it's Medicaid or SNAP."
Nunn tells vlog what the law does when it comes to Medicaid is prevents people who aren't in the country legally from being on Medicaid and eliminates waste, half a trillion dollars in fraud, and abuse.
"That means making sure that people who can work should be working. That states who are doing it wrong, aren't double-dipping in the system and bleeding it out," said Nunn. "We want to make sure the families get the resources that they need and this system isn't depleted."
