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
The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 was passed by the House on the last day of April and now awaits a Senate vote. This matters to rural health because of key provisions in the bill that communities should encourage their senators to get to the finish line. One is the Rural Health Care Facility Technical Assistance Program Act, which will provide technical assistance and training for rural healthcare organizations to help maintain essential services, improve quality and support long-term financial sustainability. Other important components of the bill include investment in rural broadband, loan and grant programs for rural behavioral health, rural workforce development including healthcare and child care, rural nutrition and food security programs, and agricultural mental health.
Unlike some other legislation involving rural hospitals, this act provides clear qualifications for how rural hospital eligibility will be determined. However, eligibility is largely subject to the Secretary’s determinations, and we must continue to lift our voices and advocate for rural hospitals supporting our nation’s most vulnerable patients.
Damage Report
Historically, when patients have lost employer-sponsored insurance, they have transitioned to Medicaid when they meet the eligibility requirements. In 2026 so far, fewer patients losing coverage are enrolling in Medicaid. This translates to hospitals seeing more uninsured patients, which adds to what we call “bad debt”, putting both patients and hospitals at risk as patients wait to seek care until their needs are emergent, and hospitals lose volume in profitable service lines that help them maintain margin. The expiration of ACA tax credits is a clear source of this shift, but other causes include immigration-related concerns and limited visibility into coverage status at point of care. For rural hospitals, consistency in reimbursement is vital, and disruption like this can have irreversible damage on a community’s access to care. We’re already seeing this damage occur across our nation’s healthcare system as rural health is compromised in the name of eliminating so-called waste and abuse.
Success Story
Rural hospitals face some of the most intense financial challenges in our nation’s history of healthcare, and more than ever, leaders must find creative ways to sustain their organization and keep essential service lines open. A rural hospital system in Stroud, Oklahoma has engaged in this kind of strategy by expanding their inpatient care options to include swing beds, providing longer-term care for patients who are too sick to go home and ineligible for long-term care or rehabilitative programs. This care model is also being employed at rural hospitals in Texas and Arkansas. Models like this are evidence of how rural hospitals creatively sustain essential services while keeping their doors open for the community.
News sources for this episode:
National Rural Health Association, “Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026,” February 17, 2026, https://nrha-prod-eastus-be.azure.silvertech.net/NationalRuralHealth/media/Documents/Advocacy/2026/Farm,-Food,-and-Natl-Sec-Act-summary-2-17-26_1.pdf.
Congress.gov, “H.R.7567 – Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026,” https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7567/text.
Alan Condon, “‘Dynamics we haven’t experienced before’: Hospitals absorb costs as patients lose coverage, skip Medicaid,” May 5, 2026, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/we-are-dealing-with-dynamics-we-havent-experienced-before-hospitals-absorbing-costs-as-patients-lose-coverage-skip-medicaid/, Becker’s Hospital Review.
Steven Martin, “Facing Financial Pressure, Rural Hospitals Adapt to Survive,” May 4, 2026, https://oklahomawatch.org/2026/05/04/facing-financial-pressure-rural-hospitals-adapt-to-survive/, Oklahoma Watch.
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.
