Rural Health News is a weekly segment of Rural Health Today, a podcast by Hillsdale Hospital.
During our Rural Health News segment, we normally cover what’s most urgent, a success story to send us into the week and ongoing advocacy efforts. But today I want to focus on the essential role that legislation and voting plays in the future of rural health.
Voter participation has increased for the general presidential elections. But for midterm elections, we’ve tracked a decrease in voter turnout, which results in less voter representation. The voice of rural communities is not being heard when the people in those communities do not exercise their right to go out and vote. This is especially concerning when it involves the future of rural healthcare.
There’s a lot of unfortunate misinformation that Medicaid is nothing more than waste, fraud and abuse. In reality, the faces of Medicaid are our community church pastors. It’s the store clerks. It’s the gas station attendants. So, I want us to reflect upon the opportunity that’s before us right now.
This election cycle, we need to mobilize. We need to get out and vote, and we need to lift our voices.
As leaders in rural healthcare, we need to raise awareness about the need for rural community hospitals. We are often one of the largest employers in our small towns and are the economic engine that drives our communities. We provide sustainable health care in regions that lack transportation and lack of access to specialty care.
Right now, there are 33 Senate seats up, along with all 435 House districts. This is an opportunity for us to prioritize rural health across the country. Research candidates to make sure they’re pro healthcare and want to reverse the dangerous actions that have been enacted by Congress recently.
I want to thank you for listening today and for considering the charge that I give you. It’s from my heart, and it’s something that I’m talking to you about because of the urgency that we have in this country right now. I encourage you to get out and vote.
Sources
Joshua Ferner Et al., “The Effect of Open Primaries on Turnout and Representation,” October 30, 2024, https://bipartisanpolicy.org/report/the-effect-of-open-primaries-on-turnout-and-representation/, Bipartisan Policy Center.
Fair Vote, “Voter Turnout,” https://fairvote.org/resources/voter-turnout/?section=turnout-in-the-united-states.
National Governors Association, “2026 Gubernational Elections,” 2026, https://www.nga.org/governors/elections/.
Ballotpedia, “United States Congress elections, 2026,” https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Congress_elections,_2026.
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.
