RECAP: Josh Turek Holds Second Roundtable In A Week To Discuss How Rising Costs Are Impacting Iowa’s Cancer Patients

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 12, 2026

RECAP: Josh Turek Holds Second Roundtable In A Week To Discuss How Rising Costs Are Impacting Iowa’s Cancer Patients

Council Bluffs Cancer Survivor: “It’s debilitating because of everything else going up: gas prices, food prices. I am, for the first time, living paycheck to paycheck and having to try to decide what I can cut, what I can do without.”

Des Moines, IA – Today, U.S. Senate candidate Josh Turek hosted another roundtable conversation with Iowa cancer patients and caregivers to hear about how Iowa’s affordability crisis, which has sent the costs of gas and groceries soaring, on top of rising health care costs are impacting their ability to get life-saving care.

“When you’ve already lost your hair, your breasts, you feel like you’ve lost everything, you’ve hit rock bottom, and then you have to fight your insurance company and have a mountain of bills, it’s devastating,” said Ulette Song, Josh’s sister who is battling Stage 2 breast cancer.

“I work with Wings of Hope Support Center, and their patients, their clients, they are having such a hard time just purchasing food and gas. And they’re getting so many more requests for food cards and gas cards,” said Vergarie Sanford, a breast cancer survivor who works with a nonprofit that supports cancer patients. “And I just think that it’s important to know how much that the economy is affecting their treatments and that they’re having to choose to eat or to get gas to get to their treatments.”

“My cancer was diagnosed three years ago, I’ve just come up on that anniversary of my lumpectomy. At the time, I had Medicare and supplemental, and it was costing $329 a month. I was able to do that. It usually goes up $40 to $60 a month every year in September. This year, I received the letter and I thought it had to be a mistake because it went up to $726. That’s an increase of $257 a month. And that’s every month. That’s over $3,000 I have to pay out this year. And what’s it going to do next August? Is it going to be $1,000?” said Geri Fredericksen, a cancer survivor. “It’s debilitating because of everything else going up: gas prices, food prices. I am, for the first time, living paycheck to paycheck and having to try to decide what I can cut, what I can do without. So it has really been a struggle. This increase, it’s really been hard for me.”

“Groceries, gas, healthcare, medication, everything is getting more expensive. When I’ve been traveling the state, I’ve been hearing horror stories from patients saying that they’re actually skipping treatment because they can’t afford to put gas in their tank. That is wrong. So many hidden costs associated with healthcare, but particularly with cancer on a daily basis. Ashley Hinson is the reason why,” said Josh Turek.

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, voted against capping the cost of prescription drugs, and even voted to make drugs more expensive for cancer patients.

In addition to her votes to strip Iowans of the tools they need to battle these crises, 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. All the while, Hinson has gotten up to $8 million richer.

Amid the state’s ongoing healthcare, cancer, and water crises, Josh has spent the last year meeting Iowans where they are to hear about the issues that matter most to them. In the U.S. Senate, Josh will continue to fight for affordable and accessible healthcare and clean water for all Iowans.

ICYMI: Today’s roundtable in Council Bluffs comes less than a week after Josh met with cancer patients and healthcare providers in Des Moines.

Des Moines Register: Josh Turek links Iowa’s water to high cancer rates

Turek held a roundtable in Des Moines on Oct. 8 with Iowa cancer survivors and providers about how costs are affecting them and their ability to get treatment.
Amy Randall, a breast cancer survivor from West Des Moines who participated in the roundtable, said she was worried about making sure her daughter has clean water to drink. She said she bought an expensive reverse osmosis system for their house.
“But I get so frustrated and I complain so much about why am I having to do this?” she said. “It’s a basic thing that we all should be able to have is clean water. But we have to do it ourselves.”
Turek agreed, saying “the government has an obligation to take care of its citizens” and part of that “means making sure that Iowans have access to clean water.”
Turek criticized Hinson’s record on health care, including her vote for the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” which cuts federal spending on Medicaid by nearly $1 trillion over a decade. He often cites projections that estimate 110,000 fewer Iowans will be insured in 2034 as a result of the law.
“There’s so much that we can do,” he said. “But unfortunately, we’re going in the wrong direction with cuts to health care, like the Big, Beautiful Bill, like what Ashley Hinson has voted in favor of.”

KCCI: Josh Turek Hosts Roundtable on Cancer

Josh Turek touched on concerns surrounding Iowa’s water quality yesterday during a roundtable discussion about cancer.
[JOSH TUREK]: “Every Iowan deserves when they turn on their tap to ensure that their water is clean and not giving them cancer.”
The Turek campaign also provided KCCI with this statement, saying: “If elected, Turek would address Iowa’s water quality crisis and crack down on companies that pollute water.”

###