'Attack on rural America': Kentucky governor hits Medicaid cuts in Trump's megabill

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Source: USA Today

Updated July 6, 2025, 11:53 p.m. ET


Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear argued the Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax policy bill will have a “devastating” impact on rural communities. “It’s the single worst piece of legislation I’ve seen in my lifetime, and it is a congressional Republican and presidential attack on rural America,” the Democrat told CNN’s Dana Bash in a July 6 interview on "State of the Union."

He said around 200,000 people in Kentucky are could lose their healthcare under the bill, which implements new work requirements for Medicaid and a raft of other restrictions that healthcare experts argue will trigger hospital closures in rural areas. Lawmakers included a $50 billion fund in the legislation to prop up these hospitals, but experts say it won’t be enough to make up for the $155 billion expected decline in federal Medicaid spending in rural areas.

Beshear, who is considered a potential presidential candidate for the party in 2028, said up to 35 rural hospitals in Kentucky could be at risk of closing as a result of the bill.

“What that means is our economy takes a huge hit,” he said. “You lose 200 jobs from doctors and nurses and orderlies and all of a sudden the coffee shop does worse, the bank doesn’t have as many folks coming in. This is going to hit rural America right in the face.”

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/07/06/beshear-trump-medicaid-cuts-attack-rural-america/84484222007/