(Spencer)– Proposed cuts to Medicaid being debated in Congress would trickle down to the nation’s smallest communities that rely on that funding to keep providing mental health services. Lawmakers say they’re trimming the budget but intend to keep the most vital services intact. But research by K-F-F Health News shows mental health services are already struggling in rural Iowa. Cuts proposed for Medicaid could force some providers to close their doors. Business owner David Jacobsen in Spencer, Iowa, lost a son to suicide, and says services that helped his son on many occasions are already stretched thin…
Jacobsen says while Spencer is small, service cuts at its hospital would be even more far-reaching and affect people needing mental health services even deeper into rural Iowa…
The U-S House has passed a budget resolution containing the proposed Medicaid cuts. It awaits action the Senate, where even some Republicans say the reductions would be too deep.
(Courtesy Iowa News Service)
