Lahn advocates for privatized Medicaid, defends attack ad against Sand

BRITT — Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn defended his Medicaid stance Saturday at the Hancock County Fair in Britt, expressing a need to continue Gov. Kim Reynolds’ healthcare policy.

Lahn said delivering healthcare through the private sector with government oversight is “bipartisan,” saying 42 states including Iowa use managed care organizations, including many Democratic states.

“I don’t think the government would do a good job of delivering healthcare for the people of Iowa,” Lahn said. “I think that the private sector can do a great job delivering this, but the government has to hold them accountable. We have to make sure we’re getting the right care, proper payment, and also I will not allow any of these companies to use AI in denying coverage from people.”

Emma O’Brien, a communications staffer for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand, said Lahn wants to continue “failed health care policies.”

“Zach Lahn has spent his career as a political operative trying to kick people off their health insurance,” O’Brien said. “Now, he’s promising to continue Iowa’s failed privatized Medicaid system, spearheaded under Gov. Reynolds, which has led to worse care and higher costs for Iowans.”

Lahn defends ad that Sand called ‘dishonest’

During a town hall in Fort Dodge Monday, Sand railed against an attack ad paid for by the Lahn campaign. The advertisement featured edited clips from KCCI broadcasts, in which anchors say the “auditor’s office took no action” when millions of dollars in state funds went missing.

“The only thing that he ran for six weeks after the general election was an attack on me and my record that was so fundamentally dishonest that the TV station, when they saw their anchor’s words being taken out of context, actually made a news story about the television ad to tell people how dishonest it was,” Sand said.

In 2024, $53 million in court debt payments were misallocated to due a computer error in Iowa’s judicial payment systems. Republican lawmakers criticized Sand, who also serves as state auditor. for failing to alert lawmakers or intervene. Sand 

“They’re not false. He is not doing his job,” Lahn said. “In 2025, his office had the statutory authority to get involved in that, and they didn’t do it. Once they miss their audit, he is statutorily allowed to get involved into that, and at the very least, provide help.”

Lahn calls for expanding ESA program for private schools

Lahn spoke with voters Saturday at the Hancock County Fair, where people told him that some of their biggest concerns involve education in Iowa.

Lahn said he wants to expand the Education Savings Account program, which provides taxpayer funds for private school expenses regardless of family income, while simultaneously improving public schools, saying market-based competition will make both better.

“My job as governor is to make sure we have the number one public schools in the country,” Lahn said. “I just had a superintendent at one of my stops today say to me he wants competition. He welcomes competition. He just needs to be unburdened to compete, and so my job is to find these superintendents who want to compete with innovative models and cut out the red tape, give them innovation waivers and a budget to do it, so they know we’re behind them.

Lahn advocates for local foods in schools

Lahn said he spoke with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins about wanting to put more locally sourced food in Iowa public schools.

“One of my biggest initiatives is how do we get more food served in public schools that is grown in the state of Iowa,” Lahn said. We need to create a new market for small farmers because a lot of this food that’s being served in public schools is already under a USDA food subsidized program, but only the big guys can get in it.”

Lahn optimistic about potential in blue counties

Lahn was also optimistic about his chances in Democratic Iowa counties, such as Polk and Johnson, where he performed well in the primary election.

“I think if you look at where we overperformed the most in the primary, it was Polk County,” Lahn said. “We had a lot of support, and we also had a lot of young people and a lot of non-primary voters come out to support us because we have a message that’s very different, very Iowa-centric. We want to make Iowa the healthiest place to raise a family, tackle the cancer crisis, clean up our water. These are things that Polk County, Johnson County care about.”