As a father of four and former volunteer EMT for 15 years in my hometown of Hull, I know the vital importance of affordable and accessible health care for Iowa families, particularly our neighbors in rural Iowa. Traveling across our district, I’ve had countless conversations with Iowans about the skyrocketing cost of health care and declining access to care in rural communities. Iowans are paying too much for routine checkups and prescription drugs and traveling long distances for doctor’s appointments and emergency care. It’s unsustainable and must change.

Fortunately, on Monday, we received great news from the Trump administration that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved $209 million for rural hospitals and rural health care in Iowa for 2026 as part of the Rural Health Transformation Program. This transformational investment in rural health care was made possible by the Working Families Tax Cuts, which I helped write and pass as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. When we were assembling this historic package of tax cuts and pro-growth economic policies, I made clear that we had to support our rural hospitals and rural health care to improve patient outcomes and save lives. For me, strengthening rural health care was non-negotiable, and that’s exactly what we did.

Working with President Trump and my Republican colleagues, we delivered $50 billion for rural hospitals and rural health care nationwide, and the recent announcement of $209 million for Iowa in 2026 alone will greatly benefit our state and rural communities. This funding will spur long-term investments that support rapid emergency medical services in Iowa, keep our rural hospitals open and operational, and make high-quality health care more accessible and affordable for Iowans. It will also help our state recruit and retain doctors and nurses in rural areas while creating cancer care hubs and increasing cancer screenings so that we can catch cancers early when they are most treatable.

Additionally, in mid-December, I voted for, and the U.S. House of Representatives passed, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act to lower health care premiums for Iowa families, seniors, veterans, and small businesses, expand access to high-quality care in rural areas, and ensure transparency in health care pricing. In addition to the $50 billion that we passed, and President Trump signed into law, for rural hospitals and health care, this legislation helps alleviate the root causes of costly health plans and brings prices down. More specifically, it expands access to Association Health Plans (AHPs) by allowing small employers and self-employed workers to band together and purchase more affordable plans and codifies and strengthens a 2019 final rule by President Trump that allows employees to use tax-free money from their employer to purchase the health care plan of their choice. These are commonsense reforms that put taxpayers first and actually reduce health care costs for Iowans.

My pledge to Iowa is that I’ll keep working with President Trump to lower health care costs, protect our rural hospitals, and ensure all Iowans have access to high-quality, affordable care.

U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Hull, represents Iowa’s Fourth Congressional District.