Wyden Reveals New Independent Analysis of Republican Health Cuts on Rural Communities
New Data From Upenn-Leonard Davis Institute Of Health Economics Shows Rural Health Fund Falls Short For Rural Communities Facing The Largest Health Care Cut In American History
Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today revealed an independent analysis of the funds states are expected to receive through the rural health fund included in Trump’s Big Ugly Bill. The analysis estimates that the temporary funds provided in the law will not make up for the broader permanent cuts to Medicaid, leading to more challenges for rural health care.
“Rural health care in America is at a crossroads, and the Republican health care cuts are sending communities down a dark path,” Wyden said. “Despite paying lip service to these communities, today’s analysis shows that slush funds designed to buy off the support of wavering congressional Republicans will not make up for the devastating across-the-board cuts to Medicaid in the Big Ugly Bill. Rural communities won’t be able to weather these cuts to their health care, and it’s a shame that Republicans are spinning tales of salvation that will inevitably come up short.”
The independent analysis, conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics finds that the temporary funds included in the Republican reconciliation bill at the last minute to entice Republicans to vote for it will fail to even come close to covering the overall cuts. The group of states hit hardest with more than $4 billion a year in Republican Medicaid cuts are projected to get back just $155 million from the fund— a tiny fraction of what was cut. By comparison, states losing $269 million from Republican Medicaid cuts will receive nearly the same amount from the fund as the hardest-hit states, $147 million, which still fails to make up for the overall cuts.
Republicans are claiming they are making the biggest investment in rural health care in history, but the analysis projects that the money will not go to the states Republicans hit hardest with their health care cuts and that are already suffering the deepest disparities. Specifically:
- Rural communities with the highest death rates will receive the least amount of financial support.
- States that have lost more rural hospital beds and larger cuts to Medicaid will not receive nearly enough federal funding to recover.
- The rural health fund formula spreads money relatively evenly, instead of targeting the unique needs of rural communities across the country.
Wyden has previously highlighted the impact of the Big Ugly Bill on rural health care, especially rural hospitals and clinics. He has also raised concerns about the rural health fund being used as a political slush fund to help Republican states and districts. Wyden has documented the ongoing and growing crisis across the country as health care providers begin to contend with the upcoming cuts, many closing their doors and ending services like labor and delivery.
The text of the analysis from the University of Pennsylvania Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics can be found here. The letter from Wyden requesting the analysis can be found here.
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