Health News Federal Funding Cuts Could Impact Already Fragile Rural Health Care

States jostle over $50 billion rural health fund as Trump's Medicaid cuts trigger scramble

States are battling for their piece of $50 billion in federal rural health funding, but it's not just hospitals vying for the money. Tech startups and policy demands are raising the stakes as Medicaid ... Read More

States Are Planning Their Responses to H.R. 1 Cuts in Medicaid Funding — Will Enrollees Lose Benefits?

In some states, governors and state health departments have announced plans to mitigate the impact of the funding cuts and anticipated budget shortfalls, with more action expected during 2026 state ... Read More

Rural Health Transformation Program Won’t Make Up for Federal Budget Cuts, Experts Agree

A new program touted to give $50 billion in federal funding to rural hospitals won’t necessarily keep rural hospitals from closing, according to several experts in rural health. The funding is part of ... Read More

Rural Texas hospitals warn of more cuts as costs rise, Medicaid shrinks

Two North Texas ERs closed as rising costs, fewer Medicaid dollars and more uninsured patients threaten care in rural Texas communities. Read More

Idaho's rural hospitals face financial strain from state and federal budget cuts

Idaho has 27 rural hospitals like Valor Health in Emmett, and they're all feeling the impacts of budget cuts at the state and federal levels. Read More

RFK Jr. misses mark in touting rural health transformation fund as historic infusion of cash

KFF estimates that the rural health fund’s five-year, $50 billion investment is a little over a third of the expected loss of federal funding in rural areas that will be spread over 10 years. Read More

Nurses group warns Georgia will see more rural health care losses under ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ cuts

The country’s largest nurses professional organization says the Trump administration’s cuts to health care programs will worsen Georgians’ access to health care, especially in rural communities where ... Read More

What ‘federal funding cuts’ really mean for health systems

Historically, hospitals and health systems have rarely pointed to federal policy shifts as a factor in decisions around closures, layoffs or service reductions. That is starting to shift, with ... Read More

Rural Health Systems Could Get $50 Billion in New Federal Funding

Between 2005 and 2023, 146 hospitals in rural U.S. counties closed or stopped providing general, short-term, inpatient care. New funding from Congress could help reverse this trend. H.R. 1 (the “One ... Read More

Health Care Cuts Threaten Homegrown Solutions to Rural Doctor Shortages

This story was originally published by KFF Health News. Olivia Owlett chose to do her primary care residency in the Northern California college town of Chico largely because it faces many of the same ... Read More

How a government shutdown could impact federal workers and lower-income families

The U.S. government is careening towards a shutdown after a Monday meeting between President Donald Trump and congressional leaders did not lead to a funding deal beyond September 30. White House ... Read More

Rural stations hit hardest by Trump’s ‘life or death’ public media cuts

Public media stations of all sizes are scrambling after President Trump in July moved to slash over $1 billion in federal funding and dissolve the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). But ... Read More