Rural Hospitals—and their Labor and Delivery Units—Face Rising Threats
Impending Medicaid cuts, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s defunding of Planned Parenthood, and the freezing of Title X funding have fueled clinic closures across rural areas. Ashley Kurzweil, Senior Policy Analyst for Reproductive Health and Rights at the National Partnership for Women and Families and Sarah Coombs, Director for Health System Transformation at the National Partnership for Women and Families sit down to talk with us about the future of rural hospitals and clinics and the patients they care for.
Many Medicaid cuts will take effect in January of 2027. One of the most immediate impacts of the law is the failure to extend premium tax credits-- which helps those who do not have access to Medicaid or employer-sponsored health coverage-- afford marketplace coverage. Rural residents, who have higher rates of Medicaid coverage and benefits from enhanced ACA premium tax credits, will be disproportionately affected. Increased financial strain will be placed on these rural hospitals, and maternal health programs, labor and delivery units, and reproductive health care clinics will be dire in rural areas. This will disproportionality impact Black communities, indigenous communities, and Latina communities, as well as rural health workers.
LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE
National Partnership for Women and Families on X
National Partnership for Women and Families on Instagram
Republican’s New Health Care Law Will Impact Over 130 Rural Labor And Delivery Units
National Partnership for Women and Families Hospital Hitlist
At-Risk Labor and Delivery Units List
Three Years Post-Dobbs, Abortion Bans & Criminalization Threaten More Than 15 Million Women of Color
Repeal, Defund, and Deauthorize: The 15-Year War Against the ACA
At Risk: Critical Medicaid Benefits for Moms
DEI Is Not a Political Trend: Why Inclusion Must Survive Every Presidency
TAKE ACTION
Transcript
Jennie: Welcome to rePROs Fight Back, a podcast on all things related to sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. [music intro]
First and foremost, follow the National Partnership for Women and Families on Instagram and X.
Share your story about how having affordable health insurance with premium tax credits has helped you access healthcare. Contact your member of Congress and tell them to etend the premium tax credits. You can also tell your member of Congress to support telehealth, (particularly for reproductive health care), which will also help strengthen access to care in rural areas. You can call the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Raise awareness in your local community. You can spread awareness by sharing the National Partnership for Women and Families Hospital Hitlist. Call on your state representatives to pass or strengthen state shield laws, which protect providers from legal action if they mail medication abortion out-of-state. You can also urge states to maintain post-partum coverage up to 12 months.
Support abortion funds, especially as people have to travel over state lines for care.