experts<\/a> have warned that while the fund \u2014 $10 billion per year allocated across all states for five years \u2014 offers some support to struggling rural hospitals, it won\u2019t save them. One reason is that the sum doesn\u2019t come close to offsetting the $137 billion that rural hospitals expect to lose over the next decade, according to health research nonprofit KFF. Millions of people are expected to lose Medicaid benefits as a result of new Medicaid work requirements going into effect in 2027 \u2014 changes the Trump administration has maintained will crack down on fraudsters rather than cut off eligible enrollees.<\/p>\nAdministrators say the new $50 billion fund is not meant to shore up ailing rural hospitals or maintain the status quo, but to transform rural health care through tech, workforce and other innovations. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz in a December video said it \u201cgives states the tools to design solutions that last, not Band-Aids that fail.\u201d <\/p>\n
The White House echoed that Wednesday, saying the fund is intended to fund \u201cbig ideas\u201d to improve rural health care access long-term.<\/p>\n
\u201cDecades of mismanagement by career politicians in Washington have left rural communities with limited care options,\u201d White House spokesman Kush Desai said.<\/p>\n
State applications show a wide range of proposals. Some pitches sought to improve emergency medical services and modernize rural facilities, while others looked to make school lunches healthier, expand physical fitness programs, beef up telehealth and expand AI-driven technologies to help monitor patients. <\/p>\n
Nebraska will spend much of its grant on innovation<\/p>\n
Avera Creighton Hospital CEO Theresa Guenther argues her hospital is not in danger of closing. but conceded that Medicaid cuts will be painful \u2014 a sentiment shared by most rural hospitals, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMedicaid cuts will have an impact to us, and we \u2014 as well as many others \u2014 will have to figure out what that looks like moving forward,\u201d she said. Her hospital hopes to get a piece of the $50 billion fund to help manage patients\u2019 chronic diseases \u2014 like diabetes \u2014 and to help cover workforce costs.<\/p>\n
Nebraska, which received $218 million for the rural health grants\u2019 first installment, plans to spend some $90 million on healthier food options at schools, recruiting more health care workers and mobile sensors to remotely monitor chronically ill patients in rural areas, among other things. But for rural critical access hospitals at risk of closing, it offers $10 million to \u201cright size\u201d them by getting rid of inpatient care, where bed occupancy is typically low.<\/p>\n
Republican state Sen. Barry DeKay said hospitals like Creighton\u2019s are vital, despite it\u2019s low occupancy rate. The hospital is in his district; even his mother received life-extending care there following a hip replacement. He\u2019s worried that the Medicaid cuts could hurt all the state\u2019s rural hospitals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll try to be working as hard as I can to get as much money to rural hospitals \u2014 whether it\u2019s in my district or any other rural district in the state,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Rick Saint John acknowledged he knows little about how Nebraska will use the federal funds, but he thinks it should go to helping hospitals like Creighton\u2019s remain intact.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hospital is very important to this community, and for more than just medical care,\u201d he said, citing job losses if the hospital loses services or closes. <\/p>\n
Hospital groups push back on fund<\/p>\n
The fund has seen pushback from hospital groups over an issue that\u2019s shaping up as important for 2026 voters. <\/p>\n
The Colorado Hospital Association sent a letter in December to state lawmakers accusing them of ignoring input from rural hospitals during the application process. <\/p>\n
The Nebraska Hospital Association, which endorsed Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer\u2019s 2024 reelection bid based on her advocacy for rural health care, has criticized both the cuts and the $50 billion fund. Fischer voted last summer for the Medicaid cuts.<\/p>\n
That and other efforts by the state to limit Medicaid spending sends a message \u201cthat access to health care is not a priority,\u201d the group said.<\/p>\n
Some Republican state lawmakers across the country have expressed unease with parts of the fund and have sought ways to use it to help struggling rural hospitals.<\/p>\n
States hard-pressed to help<\/p>\n
Under pressure, some rural states are making their own moves to help.<\/p>\n
Wyoming enacted a law allowing rural hospitals to file Chapter 9 bankruptcy, normally reserved for financially stressed cities to reorganize debts and repay creditors while protecting them from legal action.<\/p>\n
In North Dakota, during a special session to allocate the state\u2019s federal rural health funds, the Republican-led Legislature passed an unrelated bill that aims to rescue a rural hospital with a low-interest loan of up to $5 million administered through the state-owned bank. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s hoped the plan will keep the hospital open in a vast rural area where it employs 5% of the surrounding county\u2019s residents, hospital board member Matt Hager said.<\/p>\n
Young, the expert with Wellness Equity Alliance, sees dark days ahead for rural hospitals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not optimistic in the short term,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause these hospitals are facing immediate financial shortfalls, are barely financially operating currently, and they need operating support now.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Swenson reported from New York. Associated Press writer Jack Dura contributed to this report from Bismarck, North Dakota.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CREIGHTON, Neb. (AP) \u2014 Rick and Jane Saint John chose to live in the small town of Creighton,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[114260,169742,169739,169737,969,4644,1595,14924,103,397,20007,2690,396,61,60,16136,169740,22726,169738,31429,36420,1650,1139,169741,18423,115,5458,25173],"class_list":{"0":"post-380000","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-access-to-health-care","9":"tag-barry-dekay","10":"tag-ben-young","11":"tag-deb-fischer","12":"tag-donald-trump","13":"tag-elections","14":"tag-general-news","15":"tag-government-programs","16":"tag-health","17":"tag-health-care","18":"tag-health-care-costs","19":"tag-health-care-industry","20":"tag-healthcare","21":"tag-ie","22":"tag-ireland","23":"tag-legislation","24":"tag-matt-hager","25":"tag-medical-technology","26":"tag-ne-state-wire","27":"tag-nebraska","28":"tag-pneumonia","29":"tag-politics","30":"tag-robert-f-kennedy-jr","31":"tag-theresa-guenther","32":"tag-u-s-democratic-party","33":"tag-united-states","34":"tag-united-states-government","35":"tag-washington-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}