PARKERSBURG — At a sometime raucous town hall meeting Friday morning, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst faced vocal opposition on her support for spending cuts to programs such as Medicaid and SNAP.
Like many other Republican lawmakers holding events with constituents throughout the country, Ernst faced a crowd at the Aplington-Parkersburg High School who were upset with decisions made by President Donald Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress — particularly as they relate to funding for health care and food assistance programs included in the “big, beautiful” budget reconciliation bill that narrowly passed the U.S. House earlier in May.
Though Ernst said the Senate would make changes to the measure and advance their own version of the legislation, she defended reductions in spending for Medicaid at the town hall, saying the changes will not impact people in need but will remove from the program “illegals that are receiving Medicaid benefits” and able-bodied adults who are not working.
“People will die,” a woman shouted at the stage as Ernst answered one of several questions about the cuts.
“People are not — well, we all are going to die, so for heaven’s sake,” Ernst said in a response that was met by further shouts and jeering from the crowd.
Ernst said she agrees with most of the provisions on Medicaid included in the House version of the budget reconciliation bill, saying that it was targeted at changes to the public health care program that “made it much easier to get onto Medicaid, but much tougher to take people off of Medicaid.” Ernst said many people on Medicaid currently are working full-time and have access to other benefits.
“What we have to do is make sure that those that are not eligible by the federal standard for Medicaid are not receiving Medicaid,” Ernst said. “What we do need to do is make sure that those that are part of a vulnerable population have access to Medicaid and receive those full benefits. So what we’re trying to do is strengthen Medicaid by directing the dollars to the people that actually meet the requirements of the program.”
It its House form, the bill includes a $625 billion reduction in federal spending for Medicaid over 10 years, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. It also includes 80-hour-per-month work requirements for people between ages 19 and 65 to continue receiving Medicaid health coverage, with several exceptions for people with disabilities and complex medical conditions, pregnant people, tribal community members and parents of dependent children.
Elizabeth Kehret, who works for Lutheran Services in Iowa, said she was troubled by the potential impact of Medicaid cuts for pregnant woman, saying that she was previously enrolled on Medicaid during her four pregnancies before the state revuised eligibility for postpartum coverage, changing it from families with incomes of 375% of the federal poverty line to those at 215% of the federal poverty line.
Kehret said she was concerned the federal Medicaid spending cuts would cause similar cuts for care in states across the country, meaning pregnant people, who may also have private health coverage, will struggle to pay for the medical care required both before and after their child is born.
“I heard you say earlier about people who work full time but still get Medicaid — yeah,” Kehret said. “I meet with dozens of women who have dual enrollment, where they have private insurance as well as Medicaid, and it helps cover the things that their private insurance doesn’t, or that high deductible. … Medicaid is extremely important to the smallest and most vulnerable population in Iowa.”
Ernst said there were provisions to allow continued Medicaid coverage for pregnant people in the House bill.
“Because you are part of that vulnerable population, we want to make sure that you have access to Medicaid,” Ernst said. “So you will hear examples of those like the able-bodied, 30-year-old man who is taking advantage of the program, not working. What we’re asking is that please engage in work activities, engage in volunteer activities, be enrolled in a training program, and then that makes you Medicaid eligible.”
Similar concerns were brought up about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, that provides food assistance to low-income individuals. Under the House budget plan, some costs of SNAP would be moved to the states, in addition to adding other work requirements. Ernst said the House bill is correcting “overpayments” from states on SNAP, in addition to removing “people that have not been eligible for these programs by law as it is currently written” from public assistance.
Several veterans also spoke at the event, criticizing Republicans and Elon Musk’s DOGE Service for cuts to veterans’ assistance programs and cuts to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In response, Ernst said, “We’re not cutting veterans benefits.”
Several veterans have been outspoken about changes made by DOGE to the VA, including the cut of roughly 2,400 VA jobs in early March.
Ernst has been a major supporter of DOGE and efforts to make government more “efficient,” saying Republicans and Musk are focused on removing areas of unnecessary spending and “streamlining” existing programs and services. Ernst highlighted the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as an entity that can be made more efficient through DOGE efforts in response to a question on federal support following natural disasters.
“Department of Government Efficiency … the E is not about elimination, it is about efficiency,” Ernst said. “So how can we do better as a federal government to respond to the people on the ground?”
