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
State budgets across the country are under pressure as federal Medicaid cuts threaten to compromise local hospitals if state funding isn’t preserved. Each state faces unique healthcare challenges, but none are unaffected by H.R.1’s deep cuts to Medicaid reimbursement. So far, nearly half of states have signed their budgets for Fiscal Year 2027 with some reducing state Medicaid funding and some trying to close the spending gap that H.R.1 created. States initiating additional cuts to Medicaid include Colorado, Kentucky and Idaho, while a handful of states including Connecticut and New Mexico have boosted their healthcare spending to sustain hospitals through federal policy changes.
Damage Report
During last week alone, hundreds of behavioral health positions were cut across Washington, Texas and Colorado. As hospitals wind down their behavioral health centers and eliminate staffing, employment opportunities deteriorate in rural communities and patients suffer as access to care is cut short. This damage will only grow when states leave healthcare spending budgets lacking and vital programs defunded.
Success Story
Last week, hospitals throughout the country celebrated National Hospital Week to recognize the work of healthcare teams across every avenue of patient care. At Hillsdale Hospital, we encouraged our community to learn about their local hospitals, get involved with engagement opportunities, and advocate for adequate funding and program support. Thank you to all the hospitals and communities that participated in our celebration.
News sources for this episode:
National Conference of State Legislators, “FY 2027 State Budget Status,” May 7, 2026, https://www.ncsl.org/fiscal/fy-2027-state-budget-status.
Robert Tann, “Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signs state budget, with Medicaid taking brunt of cuts to close $1 billion gap,” May 8, 2026, https://www.aspentimes.com/news/colorado-new-budget-cuts-medicaid/, The Aspen Times.
Liese Klein, “Connecticut hospitals get funding boost as federal Medicaid cuts loom,” May 9, 2026, https://www.ctinsider.com/business/article/connecticut-hospitals-budget-provider-tax-medicaid-22244864.php, CT Insider.
Clark Corbin, “Idaho Senate passes rewritten health and welfare budget with additional budget cuts,” March 26, 2026, https://idahocapitalsun.com/2026/03/26/idaho-senate-passes-rewritten-health-and-welfare-budget-with-additional-budget-cuts/, Idaho Capital Sun.
Jason Bailey, “Budget Agreement Cuts and Freezes Funding for Most Services, Continues to Underfund Medicaid,” April 15, 2026, https://kypolicy.org/budget-agreement-cuts-and-freezes-funding-for-most-services-continues-to-underfund-medicaid/, Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.
Roz Brown, “NM’s Medicaid program gets state funding boost after federal cuts,” March 26, 2026, https://www.krwg.org/regional/2026-03-26/nms-medicaid-program-gets-state-funding-boost-after-federal-cuts, KRWG Public Media.
Hayley DeSilva, “Layoffs, closures tracker: Providence to cut 40 positions,” May 12, 2026, https://www.modernhealthcare.com/providers/staffing/mh-layoffs-closures-healthcare-live-updates/, Modern Healthcare.
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.
