Democratic candidate says she has prescription for Iowa

Dr. Andy McGuire is fired up for her run for Iowa governor, and she says she gets that way from her conversations with everyday Iowans.
“I started this campaign in the spring, because I wanted to get an early start. I wanted to get out and listen to people,” McGuire said Thursday at the New Hampton Tribune office. “I wanted to make sure I had enough time to talk and listen to all Iowans, in all 99 counties, and hear about their problems and their concerns.”
McGuire, former chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, visited the Chickasaw County Courthouse on Thursday and dropped by the newspaper office before leaving for an event in Charles City. Prior to becoming the Chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, McGuire ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for Iowa’s Lieutenant Governor. 
McGuire, who announced her candidacy for governor in April, is the third Democratic gubernatorial candidate to visit New Hampton in recent weeks. John Norris, former chief of staff to Tom Vilsack, and Des Moines businessman Fred Hubbell, both made campaign stops here. Other Democrats running for the nomination include state senator Nate Boulton of Des Moines, nurse and union leader Cathy Glasson of Coralville, former Des Moines School Board President Jon Neiderbach, and former Iowa City Mayor Ross Wilburn.
Governor Kim Reynolds, who became governor when Terry Branstad resigned to become U.S. Ambassador to China, announced in June that she planned to run in 2018. Other Republicans in the running include former House Speaker and Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett, and Boone City Councilman Steven Ray.
Recently, Reynolds made headlines when she told supporters that Democratic candidates were starting to become “unhinged.” She later tried to walk back those comments, but McGuire didn’t let them slide.
“If ‘unhinged’ means caring about people, if ‘unhinged’ means wanting the best for all Iowans — if that’s the definition — then I guess I’m unhinged,” McGuire said.
McGuire, who is a physician and health care management executive, has been especially critical of the recent move, led by Branstad and Reynolds, to privatize medicaid in Iowa.
“It’s been mismanaged,” she said. “They’re sending millions of dollars out of state, and these companies aren’t paying, and when they do pay, they’re late. They’re shifting money out of Iowa, and they’re denying essential services.”
McGuire pointed to medical supply businesses, ambulance services and other peripheral health care industry companies that are now struggling to make ends meet due to skyrocketing costs, and warned that rural hospitals and doctors offices would be next.

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“Nurses, doctors, small business owners, their employees, hospital employees, ambulance drivers are all being hurt. These are good-paying Iowa jobs, not to mention they’re services vital to the health of everyday Iowans,” she said.
 
For more of this article, see Tuesday's New Hampton Tribune.