Rural hospitals are bracing for financial losses from President Trump’s tax and spending cut bill.
Rural hospitals are preparing to lose billions of dollars from President Donald Trump’s signature tax and spending cut bill signed into law this summer.
Dozens, already on the brink, have warned they face the prospect of closure or reduced services because of the bill’s cuts to Medicaid, which is funded by federal and state governments and provides health care coverage for the poorest Americans.
At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday celebrating working Americans, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asserted that a historic “ infusion of cash ” is on the way for rural hospitals throughout the country.
“Right now we spend 7% of Medicaid dollars on rural hospitals,” he said. “They’re getting the short end of the stick.” To address that, he said a new fund — established in the legislation — will give rural hospitals an extra $10 billion every year.
Here’s a look at the facts.
THE CLAIM: Kennedy, speaking about the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”: “Under the rural transformation program, we give them an extra $10 billion a year. We’re raising an infusion of cash, rural hospitals and rural communities, by 50%. It’s going to be the biggest infusion in history and it’s going to restore and revitalize these communities.
