Advocates and local lawmakers are calling out the steep threat Medicaid cuts at the federal level pose to rural hospitals and medical centers.
Last year, congressional Republicans passed President Donald Trump’s budget bill, known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," which cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid over the next decade.
Sen. Natalie Murdock, D-Durham, represents all of Chatham County, a rural area west of the Research Triangle. She warned cuts to Medicaid threaten the ability of rural hospitals to continue operating vital services, like maternal healthcare. Nearly 30% of counties in North Carolina offer low access to maternity care or are maternal healthcare deserts.
"If you’re pregnant and getting ready to deliver, every minute counts," Murdock stressed. "Driving 15 minutes or 30 minutes compared to an hour or an hour and a half – we have so many counties in North Carolina that are in a maternal healthcare desert."
Trump and GOP lawmakers argued Medicaid cuts were a part of a larger effort to cut federal spending and root out waste, fraud and abuse from the federal government. The cuts also allowed Trump to pay for further tax cuts but opponents argued the tax cuts only benefit the highest income earners.
North Carolina lawmakers nearly unanimously passed more than $300 million for the state’s portion of Medicaid funding last week, preventing the program from running out of money next month. More than 3 million North Carolinians are enrolled in Medicaid.
Murdock warned hospital closures as a result of Medicaid cuts could hurt the most vulnerable North Carolinians, restricting their ability to access preventive care.
"We cannot leave the least of these, those that are the most vulnerable, left holding the bag if the federal government and the state can’t figure out what it is that they want to do," Murdock contended. "Healthcare is a basic human right. We will continue to fight tooth and nail to ensure that Medicaid expansion is preserved."
According to Protect Our Care, more than a dozen North Carolina medical facilities have closed or are at risk of closure.
Source: Public News Service
