RECAP: Josh Turek Holds Roundtable on How Rising Costs are Impacting Iowa’s Cancer Patients

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 9, 2026

RECAP: Josh Turek Holds Roundtable on How Rising Costs are Impacting Iowa’s Cancer Patients

Cancer Patient: “A drive down to a rural community and drive back to Des Moines, that’s probably 200 bucks in gas now, and radiation is every day, five days a week…”

Des Moines oncologist: “When you talk about people going through cancer, a lot of people are just hanging on…And then they get cancer, they can’t work anymore, and their insurance might be through their work. What are they supposed to do?”

Des Moines, IA – Yesterday, U.S. Senate candidate Josh Turek hosted a roundtable conversation with Iowa cancer patients and health care providers to hear about how increased prices on everyday essentials including gas and groceries are impacting their lives, on top of increased health care costs.

Just since Ashley Hinson got to Washington, 842 health care entities have closed in Iowa. Hinson voted to rip health care away from 110,000 Iowans, voted to hike healthcare premiums for 119,000 Iowans, and voted against capping the cost of prescription drugs — even as Iowa faces a cancer crisis. Hinson even voted to make drugs more expensive for cancer patients.

To make matters worse, Hinson voted five times to support the tariffs and seven times to continue the war in Iran – both of which are sending prices skyrocketing for Iowans.

Josh heard directly from the Iowans that Hinson sold out while she got up to $8 million richer.

“When you talk about people going through cancer, a lot of people are just hanging on. They’re just making it work, paycheck to paycheck. And then they get cancer, they can’t work anymore, and their insurance might be through their work. What are they supposed to do?… Or for the patients out in the rural communities– if they go to Cass Health, there’s no radiation for about a 75- to 70-mile radius. If you have to go for five or six weeks of radiation, that’s a lot of driving when gas costs are high,” said Dr. Seema Harichand-Herdt, a double board certified hematologist and medical oncologist in Des Moines.

“I don’t think there’s enough discussion about the parameters that people have to work around and do in order to get to radiation every day, in order to see a doctor, in order to just have a checkup, in order to have a scan, in order to have their blood drawn…Your head spins. You have to drive and be able to get to so many places, but I think that there really needs to be an understanding of how difficult it is for people in rural communities to get, not only OBGYN care, but enough care to fight cancer, or to be diagnosed, or to have the opportunity to just stay alive,” said Paige Connolly, diagnosed with colorectal cancer and then bi-lateral breast cancer.

“I was actually diagnosed in Colorado where I was living at the time and decided to come to Iowa because I needed my parents to be my caregivers, and once I got here, my mom helped me to navigate to get on Medicaid. I also had to stop working because of my condition and I was very, very sick and was reacting horribly to chemo. I could not hold down a job. I was able, fortunately, to get on Social Security disability income. However, I wasn’t notified until after January 1st that I got kicked off of Iowa Medicaid. So, I scrambled to purchase a plan on Marketplace, which didn’t kick in until February 1st. So for the month of January, I was uninsured. I went to the ER twice. I saw two specialists and my oncology team, so I’m on payment plans for all of those. And then my marketplace insurance doesn’t cover my $17,000 targeted therapy. It only covers up to $15,000 a month, so I’ve had to find ways to cover that gap of $2,000,” said Clara Cirks, who was initially diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer but later learned it had spread to her bones and brain.

“Transportation companies wouldn’t be able to cover [the drive to treatment] because it’s not covered through Medicare, even out of pocket. I mean, to drive down to a rural community and drive back to Des Moines, that’s probably 200 bucks in gas now, and radiation is every day, five days a week,” said Amy Randall, breast cancer survivor.

“I was on [a medication] right after my chemo… that was a daily 160 milligrams. It was four big horse pills. From basically the end of 2019, I started taking that every day for three years. I quit taking it in 2022. It started off $12,500, then it was $14,500 a month. But my portion, because of my health plan, out-of-pocket was $650 for that med…I kept paying it because I go, ‘Well, what the heck? It’s a car payment.’ But still, how many people can pay an extra $600, right? Most Iowans certainly can’t,” said Tim Day, a Stage 4 prostate cancer survivor.

“Where you live shouldn’t determine if you live. I say that one of my political north stars is from the Bible. It’s Matthew 25:40, ‘What you do to the least among you, that you do to me.’ If I’m able to get up to the U.S. Senate, I want to ensure that every Iowan, every American has access to affordable healthcare, and that we actually put the resources into addressing this cancer crisis because as you all know, far too many Iowans and far too many Americans are struggling,” said Josh Turek.

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