Medicaid Cuts Are Bad

How bad is President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill for Medicaid? Very bad, as in about $1 trillion worth of bad over the next 10 years. And how bad are the cuts going to be for rural health care? Also very bad, with projections that many rural health care providers will have to scale back their services or close up shop entirely.

I really don't have patience for folks who seem to enjoy seeing Trump-supporting rural areas suffer under Trump policies. I can understand the impulse and have fallen prey myself to moments of vindictiveness, but it's really negative and self-defeating and does absolutely nothing to change the status quo, which requires building a bigger and more durable progressive coalition that includes more people from rural areas.

There are various lists floating around of rural hospitals that are at risk because of the Medicaid cuts. One of those hospitals is Wayne Hospital in Greenville, Ohio. That's where I grew up. I have a scar on my chin from the stitches I received from a very kind doctor at Wayne Hospital when I took a nasty tumble off my bike in high school. It's in Darke County, which gave Trump 82% of its vote in 2024.

Whether or not you think the people of Darke County and places like it "voted for this", you either think that health care is a basic human right worth fighting for or you don't. I happen to think that it is, notwithstanding people's votes for a candidate who willfully lied about his policies in the runup to the election.

I loved growing up in Greenville. It's a good place full of good people. The doctors and nurses at Wayne Hospital do good work for those good people. The Medicaid cuts are going to make it harder for people in Darke County and other rural areas to access quality health care.

Ways you can help: Wayne Hospital has a nonprofit foundation that serves the hospital's mission. Family Health Services of Darke County is a nonprofit provider of primary health care services that many cannot afford. The long-term goal must be to restore federal funding and then broaden and improve health care access. In the meantime, private donations won't be able to bridge the massive funding gap, but every little bit helps.