Rural Health News is a weekly segment of Rural Health Today, a podcast by Hillsdale Hospital.
We’ll cover three headlines today: what’s most urgent, a rural health damage report and a success story to send us into the week.
Most Urgent
Last week, the Senate passed a new healthcare-funding package. While care-at-home, telehealth and diabetes prevention all benefit from this package, it fails to extend enhanced premium subsidies, which rural populations rely on for affordable health insurance. A KFF Health poll reported that two-thirds of Americans disagree with Congress’ failure to extend the subsidies. Already, hospitals across the country are seeing patient volumes decrease as patients drop their insurance plans. This cost barrier will have a dangerous impact on rural health access this year and beyond if action isn’t taken.
Damage Report
On the same topic, healthcare costs have become a major concern for the American public, with more than half of families saying they’re more concerned about affording healthcare than utilities, food, housing and gas this year. Recent polls also reported healthcare cost increases will play a role in most Americans’ voting decisions in 2026. Between expiring ACA subsidies and other insurance changes, more than half of Americans expect healthcare to become more expensive, even with employer-sponsored insurance. A poll from just last week shows that prior authorization is a top concern for healthcare costs. Other concerns include understanding a bill, getting appointments when they’re needed and finding providers accepting the right insurance.
Lastly in our damage report, a recent proposal to limiting federal loans for graduate programs to $20,500 per year will shrink the physician assistant workforce and make recruiting more difficult for hospitals in years to come. Students are concerned about having to delay enrollment due to the loan cap, and one recent poll suggests many would-be PA students won’t even go into the healthcare industry because of it. We will be watching this proposal for future updates.
Success Story
We love to tell stories from all over the country about achievements and milestones in rural health. Today, we’re sharing a success story from Hillsdale Hospital that we hope will encourage our listeners working in healthcare.
Everyone at Hillsdale Hospital knows the name ‘Doris,’ because of the leadership and legacy attached to it. Doris is a registered nurse, risk management director, recipient rights advisor, former patient advocate and beloved community member. Breaking all previous records for our hospital, Doris has worked here for 57 years, dedicating each day to this community. After many decades of devotion to our patients and staff, Doris is retiring this year. In honor of her legacy, we are naming our nursing scholarship after her to celebrate the generations of nurses she’s taught and the many seasons that she has led Hillsdale Hospital through: natural disasters, stock market crashes, new expansions and growth, and most importantly, the countless connections she’s built with our patients. High school seniors in our area of Michigan pursuing an associate’s or bachelor of science degree in nursing to become an RN can apply for the Doris Whorley Nursing Scholarship at hillsdalehospital.com/education.
Sources
Kevin B. O’Reilly, “8 wins for doctors, patients in latest federal budget deal,” February 3, 2026, https://www.ama-assn.org/health-care-advocacy/federal-advocacy/8-wins-doctors-patients-latest-federal-budget-deal, American Medical Association.
Selena Simmons-Duffin, “With an ACA fix uncertain in the Senate, Republicans replay old health care fights,” February 2, 2026, https://www.npr.org/2026/02/02/nx-s1-5695766/aca-enhanced-premium-subsidies-republicans-democrats, NPR.
Shannon Schumaker, et al. “KFF Health Tracking Poll: Health Care Costs, Expiring ACA Tax Credits, and the 2026 Midterms,” January 29, 2026, https://www.kff.org/public-opinion/kff-health-tracking-poll-health-care-costs-expiring-aca-tax-credits-and-the-2026-midterms/, KFF Health News.
Ashley Kirsinger, et al. “KFF Health Tracking Poll: Prior Authorizations Rank as Public’s Biggest Burden When Getting Health Care,” February 2, 2026, https://www.kff.org/public-opinion/kff-health-tracking-poll-prior-authorizations-rank-as-publics-biggest-burden-when-getting-health-care/, KFF Health News.
Paige Twenter, “A $20,500 cap on federal student loans will strain PA workforce: Survey,” February 4, 2026, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/hospital-physician-relationships/a-20500-cap-on-federal-student-loans-will-strain-pa-workforce-survey/, Becker’s Hospital Review.
Rural Health Today is a production of Hillsdale Hospital in Hillsdale, Michigan and a member of the Health Podcast Network. Our host is JJ Hodshire, our producer is Kyrsten Newlon, and our audio engineer is Kenji Ulmer. Special thanks to our special guests for sharing their expertise on the show, and also to the Hillsdale Hospital marketing team. If you want to submit a question for us to answer on the podcast or learn more about Rural Health Today, visit ruralhealthtoday.com.
