A full description of the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” remains a moving target. But if the version of the budget reconciliation deal being debated in the U.S. Senate on Monday afternoon is any indicator, it could be one of the most devastating bills for rural health care in a generation.
The health care system is already groaning under the weight of an aging population, underfunded government programs and overpowering private insurers. But the Medicaid cuts being proposed will close rural hospitals. And if rural hospitals close, eventually people who might have lived will die.
Among the Minnesota hospitals most in danger: Fairmont and Hibbing. But I wouldn’t want to be any hospital when people lose Medicaid coverage but still need care.
Read “Trump’s Medicaid cuts will close rural hospitals, accelerate health care crisis in Minnesota” online now and in the Tuesday, July 1, 2025 edition of the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Aaron J. Brown is a columnist and member of the editorial board for the Minnesota Star Tribune. His new book about Hibbing Mayor Victor Power and his momentous fight against the world’s largest corporation will be out soon.
