On July 4th, President Trump signed the controversial “Big Beautiful Bill” into law — a sweeping piece of legislation that slashes over $1 trillion in healthcare spending. The deepest cuts? Medicaid.
Now, rural America is on edge.

According to new data from the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, 338 rural hospitals are now officially “at risk” of closure, downsizing, or being forced to eliminate critical services like maternity wards or chemotherapy centers. These aren’t just numbers — these are lifelines for millions of families across 46 states.

🏥 In Kentucky alone, 35 hospitals are at risk.
🏥 Louisiana? 33.
🏥 Alaska, West Virginia, and California follow closely behind.
Democratic senators warned the President in a letter, saying this bill will have “devastating consequences” for health outcomes, jobs, and even survival. In response, the administration claimed rural hospitals are simply a fraction of total Medicaid spending and cited fraud under previous leadership.

But tell that to a mother in rural Nebraska now driving three hours for labor and delivery care.

One hospital has already announced its closure.