The impacts of the Trump administration’s federal budget are already being felt in hospitals across the country, with worries that it will cause significant damage to America’s rural communities in the years to come.
NBC News reported that some hospitals in rural regions, such as Kansas, are already reviewing the services they provide and determining whether they will need to end or change some practices to prevent closure.
That’s because the federal budget’s approval comes with large cuts to Medicaid, worth nearly $1 trillion, as well as overarching changes to the Affordable Care Act that will result in millions of patients separated from health care services and automatic cuts to Medicare valued at another $500 billion.
In a letter to federal leaders in June, more than 30 Democratic Senators said the consequences of the budget on healthcare will be swift and severe. At least $1.5 trillion of lost support will lead to 16 million people in the country losing health insurance coverage.
Many rural hospitals receive payment for services through programs like Medicaid and Medicare, and the end of that support removes much of their revenue, which could force hospitals to scale back services or cut them, the Senators said. The service reductions are expected to have ripple effects on rural communities, where the hospitals are a significant employer for local residents.
Data from the Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina found more than 300 rural hospitals were at risk of closing, including one in Connecticut, one in Massachusetts, two in Maine and 11 in New York. The center considered the top 10% of all rural hospitals receiving Medicaid support with three straight years of negative profit margins to be at-risk.
The one hospital on the list in Connecticut, Sharon Hospital, is represented by Republican Sen. Stephen Harding. In public comments after the budget’s passing, Harding did not touch on the rural hospital issue.
In other regions, the damage is becoming clear. NBC News reported the Curtis Medical Center in Curtis, Nebraska announced its closure in anticipation of future service cuts, while a rural Colorado hospital expects it will have to end some services offered like long-term care.
As a result, in the years to come, patients in some communities may need to travel hours to access high-quality health care, whether for emergencies or regular care.
