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

Examining the impact of federal funding cuts on rural healthcare facilities

Already strapped rural hospitals and clinics nationwide face some dire financial decisions. More than 100 facilities have closed their doors in recent years or consolidated. Read More

Cutting health care funding isn’t fiscally sound when it pushes mental health patients into crisis

While Congress continues to debate where to cut health care funding, it’s important to understand how these cuts impact individual patients as well as the system at large. As an acute care physician ... Read More

How health care budget cuts put vulnerable communities at risk

Proposed health care budget cuts in 2027 could lead to reduced services for vulnerable populations and hospital closures in rural areas. Read More

‘Stretched thin’: Medicaid cuts threaten Delawareans’ access to health care in rural areas

File - Delawareans protest against possible cuts to federal Medicaid funding at a news conference with patients, doctors, members of Congress and health care advocates in Wilmington, Delaware, in ... Read More

What to know about the impacts Medicaid cuts are having on rural health care

FRANCONIA, N.H. (AP) — The closing of a health center in rural New Hampshire has raised concerns that the projected cuts in Medicaid are already taking a toll. Last month, a site of the Ammonoosuc ... Read More

States compete for $50 billion in rural health funding

The five-year Rural Health Transformation Program was approved by Congress in a law – the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – that also drastically cuts Medicaid spending, on which rural providers heavily ... Read More

Iowa seeks $1 billion from new federal rural health fund amid Medicaid cuts

Surrounded by state lawmakers and health care providers, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signs her bill to address the state's health care workforce shortage and increase accessibility to rural health care ... Read More

Wisconsin is asking for $1B for rural health care. Here's what it could include.

The money would come from the Rural Health Transformation Program, a $50 billion fund included in the "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act. Read More

Wisconsin seeks $1 billion in federal funding to improve rural health care

MADISON — Wisconsin has submitted a $1 billion funding request to the federal government to address improve rural health care access. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services outlined three main ... Read More

California bets a billionaire tax could fix healthcare

California is testing a simple but explosive idea: tap a small slice of billionaire wealth to shore up a healthcare system strained by rising costs and federal cuts. The proposal would hit a tiny ... Read More

Rural health care at risk as Georgia prepares for 2026 legislative session

New data shows Georgia has 30 Critical Access Hospitals and three Rural Emergency Hospitals, meaning many patients in rural areas already face long drives for urgent care. Read More