From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— Amid concerns around future Medicaid cuts, health care advocates tell WisPolitics they’re unsure if a new federal aid program will help rural hospitals as promised.
The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” signed into law by President Donald Trump dedicates $50 billion to the Rural Health Transformation Program. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is in the process of applying for aid under the program.
The issue of rural health care access in Wisconsin has drawn attention in recent years, particularly following Hospital Sisters Health System and Prevea Health’s closure of hospitals in western Wisconsin.
David Hartberg, CEO of Vernon Health in Viroqua, is the board chair of the Wisconsin High Value Network, a group of 10 independent rural hospitals that joined forces in September to boost rural health care access and lower costs to purchase equipment and services.
He said while health care providers appreciate that the program exists, he wants people to understand that it “isn’t going to solve all the problems.” He pointed to the significance of the cuts.
“To most people, 50 billion’s a big number that feels like it could solve a lot of problems,” Hartberg told WisPolitics. “And like I said, it’s going to be helpful, but for each own organization, I don’t know that anybody is going to say, ‘I think we’ll be kept whole.’ So everybody’s preparing for some level of decrease in reimbursement.”
The federal law is projected to cut Medicaid funding by about $1 trillion over the next 10 years. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services estimates 270,000 Wisconsinites will lose health insurance under the law. The provision to create the $50 billion rural health care program was added in the U.S. Senate amid concerns provisions in the bill would hurt already struggling rural hospitals.
A spokesperson for DHS said the agency is working with partners on the application for the program, but declined to comment on its potential impact. Gov. Tony Evers’ office did not return a request for comment on the program.
WisPolitics-State Affairs subscribers can see more here.
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