Medicaid Cuts Prompt Rural Clinic Closures

Rural health providers across multiple states are closing or cutting services after funding and regulatory changes tied to the Republican One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is projected to reduce federal health spending by roughly $900 billion to $1 trillion over the next decade. In California, Glenn Medical Center lost its federal Critical Access Hospital designation because it sits 32 miles from the nearest hospital (below the 35-mile threshold) and said it will close its emergency department on Sept. 30 and the facility on Oct. 21 after losing about 40% of its revenue. In Virginia, Augusta Medical Group announced it will shutter three Blue Ridge–area clinics, blaming the legislation for making those clinics financially unsustainable. Experts and analyses, including KFF and academic studies, warn Medicaid reductions will disproportionately harm rural areas by shrinking patient pools and leaving fewer people to cover fixed costs, and they say the $50 billion rural health fund is only a short-term fix. The closures are already reverberating politically, with Democrats linking them to national Republican policy while Republicans argue consolidation could improve care access. Patients in affected communities now face longer travel distances, reassigned appointments, or reliance on mobile clinics as providers try short-term mitigations.