Rural health fund won’t save rural hospitals, advocates say

A $50 billion government fund intended to transform rural health care will not halt the long-term financial burdens facing rural hospitals, which the Trump administration’s vast Medicaid cuts under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act amplified. The rural health fund, included in the law to offset opposition to the Medicaid cuts, is geared towards innovative health care delivery solutions, rather than alleviating chronic funding shortfalls for rural hospitals that are projected to reach $137 billion over the next decade, according to KFF. Some rural states, including Wyoming and North Dakota, are passing legislation to shore up rural hospitals, while the Nebraska Hospital Association has criticized the Medicaid cuts and the $50 billion rural health fund. (AP article, 4/6/26)