MASON CITY – Senator Amanda Ragan of Mason City, ranking member of
the Health and Human Services Budget Committee, said Tuesday that deep budget cuts will hurt Iowa families.
In a statement released Tuesday, Senator Ragan said “Last week Iowans learned that deep cuts are being made to essential health care services provided by the Department of Public Health, cuts that will hurt Iowa families and increase future health care costs. For example, Iowa children will be denied hearing aids and vision screening, making it much harder for them to succeed in school and in life. We should work together to fix this mistake.”
The Iowa Department of Public Health is making an $1.3 million in cuts to an already tight budget, it announced last week. Iowa’s revenues have shrank under the Republican-led legislature and under Terry Branstad as governor, leading to cuts across the board. New governor Kim Reynolds may need to dip into reserves to keep services flowing.
