Rochester, MN – Last night, Mayo Clinic announced that it will be closing six clinics and stripping Albert Lea of critical surgeries. Patients in Wells, St. Peter, Caledonia, and North Mankato will be forced to drive further for routine care, while Albert Lea residents will lose access to various local surgeries. The closures come just weeks after Congressman Brad Finstad voted to slash nearly $100 billion from rural Medicaid (Medical Assistance), which keeps rural clinics afloat.

“Minnesotans are being told to settle for less while politicians like Brad Finstad defund Medicaid and hand the money to billionaires,” said Jake Johnson, a local math teacher and lifelong resident of southern Minnesota. “We need to stop selling out our small towns to the highest bidder, and instead fight to keep care close to home.”

“This is personal to me. When I grew up in Stewartville, my family depended on healthcare that was funded through Medicaid,” Johnson continued. “Now those same lifelines are being ripped away, and our communities will pay with longer drives, higher costs, and fewer doctors.”

Johnson’s campaign has made protecting Medicaid and rural healthcare a central priority. As he wrote in the Post Bulletin last week, “we deserve a congressman who will protect Medicaid, keep our rural hospitals open, and stand up to the big corporations driving up costs.”

###