Rural Health News is a weekly segment of Rural Health Today, a podcast by Hillsdale Hospital.
Welcome back to Rural Health News, the segment of Rural Health Today where we fill you in on the latest in rural health headlines. We’ll cover three headlines in today’s episode: what’s most urgent, a rural health damage report, and a success story to send us into the week.
Most Urgent
Last week, President Trump announced his budget request for Fiscal Year 2027. Along with a total reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services, the request includes defunding bipartisan rural health programs, a 12.5% decrease in HHS funding, a $102 million decrease in funding for the Federal Office of Rural Health Program, and most disturbingly, the elimination of State Offices of Rural Health. Trump also proposed to eliminate the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, the Rural Hospital Stabilization Program, and the Rural Hospital Provider Assistance Program. Each of these cuts would serve a devastating blow to healthcare access for our rural communities.
If you’ve been following our podcast for a while, you may remember our Rural Health Road Trip series, recorded and published in 2024. We spoke with over half of our nation’s states about the unique challenges and opportunities in rural health for their communities. The majority of those interviews were with State Offices of Rural Health, and when they weren’t, our conversations in the background started with those offices. We connected with these offices so much because they understand their rural hospitals and the overall state of healthcare in their rural communities the best, often much better than the state’s department of health. They initiate programs to improve access, provide funding for rural hospitals that need it the most, and act as a support system for struggling hospitals across the country.
Defunding core programs to rural health removes the very anchors of sustainable access many hospitals are counting on to get them through impending Medicaid cuts. If you want to help advocate for rural health, the National Rural Health Association is providing a few easy steps for constituents to urge Congress to invest in a better plan. Visit ruralhealth.us to learn more, or hillsdalehospital.com/advocacy for more information and action steps.
Damage Report
We reported on 23 hospital closures in 2025, but unfortunately, the rising trend of hospital and service closures is just getting started. The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform estimates that 734 rural hospitals in the US, one-third of rural facilities in the nation, are at risk of closing as of January, 2026. In Arkansas, a rural hospital is closing its emergency department and medical unit this week; another hospital in Pennsylvania will shut down next month; and two other emergency departments in Maryland and New Jersey are either already closed or recently announced their end date. This loss of emergency services in our rural communities is alarming. It’s one thing to not have specialty services available locally, but when a rural family has an emergency medical need, adding up to hours to their drive puts lives on the line. These kinds of closures will stretch ambulance services thin, challenge the rural transportation gap, and burden the overcrowded emergency departments that remain open for underserved areas.
Success Story
Rural healthcare organizations across the United States face worsening staff shortages. The Community Health Center of southeast Kansas’ John U. Parolo Education Center hopes to increase local talent by teaching kids about healthcare careers at a science camp over spring break. Camp activities include fun, or maybe disgusting, science experiments, such as frog dissection. The goal of this program is to show children the types of healthcare careers that exist within their own community.
This is a fantastic program to teach kids both the importance of local healthcare and how they can serve friends and neighbors in a rewarding healthcare career.
Sources
Sabrina Ho, “NRHA Statement on the President’s FY 2027 Budget Request,” April 3, 2026, https://www.ruralhealth.us/blogs/2026/04-april/nrha-statement-on-the-president%E2%80%99s-fy-2027-budget-request, National Rural Health Association.
Molly Gamble, “756 hospitals at risk of closure, state by state,” December 26, 2025, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/756-hospitals-at-risk-of-closure-state-by-state/, Becker’s Hospital Review.
Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, “Rural Hospitals at Risk of Closing,” January 2026, https://chqpr.org/downloads/Rural_Hospitals_at_Risk_of_Closing.pdf.
Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga, “These Kansas elementary students dissect frogs — and it could help fight a doctor shortage,” April 7, 2026, https://www.kcur.org/health/2026-04-07/these-kansas-elementary-students-dissect-frogs-and-it-could-help-fight-a-doctor-shortage, Kansas City Public Radio.
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.
