Hundreds Rural Hospitals Face Closure Amid Trump Medicaid Cuts

President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill," passed in 2025, has led to significant Medicaid funding cuts projected to force the closure of hundreds of rural hospitals and nursing homes nationwide, including at least eight in South Carolina and several in New Hampshire. Medicaid accounts for a substantial share of hospital funding, especially in rural areas, with some states like Kentucky, Louisiana, and New Hampshire seeing many vulnerable facilities at risk of shutting down, which would also result in job losses for hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers. These closures and funding reductions are expected to increase emergency room wait times, reduce services, and raise health insurance premiums, impacting coverage for tens of thousands of Americans. Democratic lawmakers, including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Maggie Hassan, have criticized the bill for endangering healthcare access while highlighting disparities such as tax benefits for wealthy individuals like Jeff Bezos. Republican officials counter that the legislation increases healthcare choices and lowers costs through expanded health savings accounts and flexibility. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill will reduce benefits for low-income households while favoring higher earners with tax cuts, exacerbating economic and healthcare inequities.