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
Medicaid recipients across the country are confused by federal definitions of “medically frail” exemptions from new work requirements implemented by H.R. 1. A lawsuit by the city of Columbus, Ohio, along with several healthcare advocacy groups and Medicaid enrollees, have argued that the federal government has defined medical frailty too narrowly, placing individuals with serious medical conditions at risk of losing coverage. According to the suit, the definition violates regulations set by the Administrative Procedure Act and compromises the intent of Congress to ensure medically frail individuals maintain coverage. Whatever Congress’s intent, H.R. 1 states that medically frail enrollees must prove they are unable to work, without specifying how they are expected to do so. An analysis of the rule estimates that the additional restrictions will increase coverage losses by 30%, a percentage that the suit claims will include medically frail individuals unable to follow the ongoing changes in work requirements and exemption definitions.
This lawsuit isn’t the first to come up against the Trump administration’s definition of medical frailty, though none have been successful.
Damage Report
Every few months, we use our Rural Health News segment to updates our listeners on maternity care closures throughout the nation. As of last week, 22 labor and delivery services have been shut down or have announced upcoming closure. The hospitals and health systems closing their units have cited financial pressures and staffing shortages as the causes, and many more facilities are considering cutting their maternity care programs to save costs.
Rural America is disproportionately affected by these closures, leaving families without essential access to care where it’s needed most. If you want to read more about maternity care patients living maternal health deserts, visit marchofdimes.org.
Success Story
In rural communities across the US, local emergency room staff often must perform advanced lifesaving procedures to stabilize patients before they can be safely transferred to trauma centers. Over the last year, Augusta University’s Medical College of Georgia piloted a portable simulation training course for rural ER staff called Rural Interactive Trauma Simulations. The four-hour course has already trained over 200 rural healthcare providers, and in the future, course organizers intend to build additional regional hubs at academic medical centers, allowing for more advanced training for larger groups. Stories like this highlight the importance of continued healthcare education to keep our rural community members healthy and safe.
Sources
Nathaniel Weixel, “Lawsuit targets ‘medically frail’ Medicaid work requirement exemption,” September 22, 2026, https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/6105262-lawsuit-trump-medicaid-work-requirements/, The Hill.
Ella Jeffries, “Physician groups, patients sue CMS over Medicaid work requirements,” September 22, 2026, https://www.beckerspayer.com/payer/medicaid/physician-groups-patients-sue-cms-over-medicaid-work-requirements/, Becker’s Payer Issues.
Madeline Scheetz, “22 maternity service closures in 2026,” September 22, 2026, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/rural-health/rural-workforce/3-maternity-closures-in-3-weeks/, Becker’s Hospital Review.
March of Dimes, “Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the U.S.,” 2026, https://www.marchofdimes.org/maternity-care-deserts-report.
Tim Rausch, “Outreach program offers rural Georgia hospitals life-saving trauma training,” September 21, 2026, https://jagwire.augusta.edu/outreach-program-offers-rural-georgia-hospitals-life-saving-trauma-training/, Augusta University.
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.
