Republican Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds on Wednesday thanked the Iowa House Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee for passing the state’s Medicaid Work Requirements bill.
According to Iowa HHS, there are “over 100,000 able-bodied adult Medicaid recipients in Iowa [who] are not working.” Reynolds is pushing for a federal waiver to require able-bodied adults on Medicaid to work in order to received benefits, “with common sense exemptions.” (Medicaid provides health insurance for children and for disabled, elderly, and low-income individuals.)
As seen below, Reynolds wrote to her constituents on X: “If you can work, you should. It’s time to refocus Iowa’s Medicaid program on its core population—aged, disabled, and children.” Note: Reynolds omitted “low-income individuals” from the core population of recipients of Medicaid.
If you can work, you should. It’s time to refocus Iowa’s Medicaid program on its core population—aged, disabled, and children. Thank you to the House HHS Committee for passing the Medicaid Work Requirements bill! pic.twitter.com/Mk81fCbIYV
— Gov. Kim Reynolds (@IAGovernor) March 5, 2025
One able-bodied adult replied to Reynolds: “While I’m physically able to work I have paid in to SS and M/M for 45 years. If Elon takes the waste, fraud and abuse out of the system no Iowan should ever have to work their golden years. Make government efficient again please and thank you.”
Others were not as polite after learning that another bill advanced in the Statehouse this week would give Reynolds a $100,000 raise (a 77% increase) and also increase the salaries of state lawmakers by $20,000 in 2027. According to the Des Moines Register, Reynolds currently makes $130,000 a year.
One angry constituent replied: “Everyone in the Republican Party said no Medicaid cuts and now see what they r doing! Hmmmmm! Farmers want to know about the USDA cuts!!! Kim’s more interested in asking for a 77 per cent increase to her pay which equals an extra 100,000 dollars in her pocket!!!”
Note: If passed by the State Government Committee, the pay increases for Iowan lawmakers will not take effect until January 2027, after the 2026 election. Asked at a press conference in February if she was seeking reelection– it would be her third term — Reynolds said: “Stay tuned. There might be some news coming, just not today.”