Peggy Huppert retired in 2023 following a 43-year career with Iowa nonprofit organizations, including the American Cancer Society and NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) Iowa. She is also a long-time progressive political activist.
It does not surprise me, but disappoints me greatly, that the Iowa legislature is poised to adopt a policy requiring “able bodied” Medicaid recipients to work at least 80 hours a month in order to stay enrolled.
This is nothing new. Some Republicans tried to implement this in Iowa during Donald Trump’s first administration. As the head of NAMI Iowa, I successfully helped fight this legislation for four years before a reprieve during the Biden administration. Now, with an even larger majority in both the Iowa House and Senate, encouragement from our governor, and a green light from the new Trump administration, there is nothing holding the Republican majority back.
As a mental health advocate and family member of loved ones with serious mental illness, I would like to see the phrase “able bodied” (just like “It’s all in your head”) permanently retired from our lexicon.
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