Joni Ernst has been a mental health champion throughout her career. That’s why it took me by surprise when, in response to an Iowan telling her people would die as a result of Medicaid cuts at a town hall in Parkersburg on May 30, Sen. Joni Ernst said, “We all are going to die.”
I know Senator Ernst as a dedicated mental health advocate, and I feel compelled as a fellow Iowan and suicide prevention advocate to share why Medicaid is a lifeline to the 700,000 Iowans who depend on Medicaid for essential mental and physical health care they need to live and have the best chance to thrive.
Ernst has fought to advance suicide prevention for Iowans and improve access to mental health care — including children, veterans, and rural communities. In her first-ever Senate speech, she highlighted the urgency of addressing veteran suicide rates, “We tragically lose 20 veterans a day to suicide. … We can and must do better.” Senator Ernst introduced a bill to allow veterans to seek non-VA mental health care if VA services are delayed or inadequate, and co-sponsored the FARMERS First Act to provide mental health resources to agricultural communities. I applaud her for her work and actions she has championed for mental health. Ernst is also a co-founder of the Bipartisan Senate Mental Health Caucus.
Cuts to Medicaid, as passed by the House of Representatives, and those that are being discussed in the Senate, would detrimentally impact farmers, veterans, rural communities and other populations. Ernst’s comment at issue is not aligned with the priorities she has voiced in the past, as these populations would be disproportionately harmed by Medicaid cuts. Our farmers, who work hard to put food on the table for American families, are facing mounting financial pressure and other stressors that create real mental health challenges. Veterans who fought for our country and came home with scars, both mental and physical, deserve needed care, let alone the best care. Barriers to care create significant risks, and this bill is filled with them.
As a fellow Iowan, I call on Ernst to hold true to the best interest of the farmers, veterans and rural communities that rely on Medicaid to thrive, as their lifeline to hope for accessing the care they need. Medicaid is the backbone of health care in America, particularly for mental health care. Medicaid pays for 25% of all mental health care and 40% of substance use treatment, more than any other insurer.
Iowa has experienced America’s mental health crisis. It is felt tangibly in every corner of the state, and the data shows a glaring problem — Iowa’s teenage suicide rate increased from 3.1% in 2022 to 5.2% in 2023, with 1 in 5 children in Iowa having a current diagnosed mental or behavioral health condition. The mental health crisis doesn’t just impact children. Approximately 473,000 adults in Iowa live with a mental health condition, three times the population of Cedar Rapids.
Medicaid reforms should not put the lives of Iowans, or other vulnerable Americans across the country, in jeopardy because essential health care is pulled from reach. The integrity of Medicaid must be protected to continue to meet the needs of our veterans, farmers, and children. There is an opportunity for the senator to serve her fellow Iowans consistently by recognizing the connection between Medicaid and Iowans’ access to mental health care. I urge Senator Ernst to fight for the hundreds of thousands of Iowans whose access to care is under threat, from the veteran who depends on Medicaid to receive specialized mental health support to the farmer who is able to access a provider in his rural town because of Medicaid funding.
Senator, while everyone does indeed die, you can save lives and champion mental health care, consistent with your decades of tireless work for Iowans, by protecting Medicaid.
Amara Huffine
Amara Huffine is the area director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Iowa Chapter. Contact: Ahuffine@afsp.org.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Medicaid is vital for mental health care, suicide prevention | Opinion