Rural Dispatch: July 2025

‘We Need To Keep Fighting’: HIV Activists Organize To Save Lives as Trump Guts Funding

Amy Maxmen

While Congress fails to stave off cuts to HIV care, community leaders in Mississippi and beyond race to limit the damage.

Here Come the ACA Premium Hikes

Medicaid may have monopolized Washington’s attention lately, but big changes are coming to the Affordable Care Act as well. Meanwhile, Americans are learning more about what’s in Trump’s big budget law, and polls suggest many don’t like what they see. Julie Appleby of KFF Health News, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews historian Jonathan Oberlander to mark Medicare’s 60th anniversary.

Tribal Health Officials Work To Fill Vaccination Gaps as Measles Outbreak Spreads

Arielle Zionts

Native American tribes and health organizations are hosting clinics and calling patients to counteract low measles vaccination rates and limited access to health care as the disease spreads across the country.

Cuts to Food Benefits Stand in the Way of RFK Jr.’s Goals for a Healthier National Diet

Renuka Rayasam

The Trump administration has said improving American nutrition is a priority, but deep cuts to federal food assistance could lead people to forgo healthy food in favor of cheaper alternatives.

The Foster Care System Has a Suicide Problem. Federal Cuts Threaten To Slow Fixes.

Cheryl Platzman Weinstock

Children and young adults in the U.S. foster care system suffer from mental health disorders and die by suicide at far higher rates than the general population, yet the system doesn’t uniformly screen and treat children who are at risk.

Doulas, Once a Luxury, Are Increasingly Covered by Medicaid — Even in GOP States

Lauren Sausser and Katheryn Houghton

Even as states brace for significant reductions in federal Medicaid funding over the next decade, conservative legislatures across the country are passing laws that grant doula access to Medicaid beneficiaries.

In a First, Trump and GOP-Led Congress Prepare To Swell Ranks of US Uninsured

Renuka Rayasam and Sam Whitehead

Fewer Americans will likely have health insurance, compromising their physical and financial health, as the Trump administration and GOP-controlled Congress weigh major changes to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid. “The effects could be catastrophic,” one policy analyst predicts.

Republican Megabill Will Mean Higher Health Costs for Many Americans

Phil Galewitz and Julie Appleby and Renuka Rayasam and Bernard J. Wolfson

Spending cuts hitting medical providers, Medicaid and Affordable Care Act enrollees, and lawfully present immigrants are just some of the biggest changes the GOP has in store for health care — with ramifications that could touch all Americans.

Insurers Fight State Laws Restricting Surprise Ambulance Bills

Rae Ellen Bichell and Katheryn Houghton

A Colorado bill banning surprise billing for ambulance rides passed unanimously in both legislative chambers, only to be met with a veto from the governor. As more states pass such legislation, some are hitting the same snag — concerns about raising premiums.

In Rush To Satisfy Trump, GOP Delivers Blow to Health Industry

Phil Galewitz and Stephanie Armour

The health industry couldn’t persuade GOP lawmakers to oppose big Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill for many reasons. A big one: Congressional Republicans were more worried about angering Trump than a backlash from hospitals and low-income constituents back home.

$50B Rural Health ‘Slush Fund’ Faces Questions, Skepticism

Sarah Jane Tribble

Lawmakers added a $50 billion program for rural health to President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending package with promises it would help plug the hole left by Medicaid cuts. Rural hospital and clinic leaders worry the infusion won’t reach the right places.

Amid PFAS Fallout, a Maine Doctor Navigates Medical Risks With Her Patients

Marina Schauffler

A doctor doing environmental health research in rural Maine is working to establish the best practices to treat patients exposed to “forever chemicals,” potentially leading the way for practitioners across the nation.