Give and Take: Federal Rural Health Funding Could Trigger...

What’s Happening

So get this: States are rolling out plans for their share of a $50 billion fund meant to improve rural health care.

In some states, the money may provoke rural hospitals to cut services. One of the emergency room beds at Big Sandy Medical Center in Montana. (we’re not making this up)

Rancher Shane Chauvet found himself in the Big Sandy ER after a piece of metal nearly cut off his arm during a windstorm a few years back.

The Details

(Aaron Bolton/MTPR) Rural Health Payout Give and Take: Federal Rural Health Funding Could Trigger Service Cuts By Aaron Bolton, MTPR and Arielle Zionts Republish This Story BIG SANDY, Mont. — The emergency department at Big Sandy Medical Center is one room with a single curtain between two beds.

It can be republished for free . It’s one of the many parts of the 25-bed rural hospital that need updating, former CEO Ron Wiens dropped.

Why This Matters

He dropped the hospital, an essential service in its namesake town of nearly 800 residents in the state’s sprawling north-central high plains, needs at least $1 million for deferred maintenance, including a failing HVAC system. But the facility has struggled to make payroll each month and can’t afford to make all the fixes, Wiens dropped. Built ranchers in 1965, Big Sandy Medical Center began with nine beds.

Health experts are weighing in on what this means for people.

Key Takeaways

• Today, a similar community effort — donations and grants to plug financial holes each year — keeps it afloat.
• The state received more than $233 million in its first-year award.
• But the hospital may not get the kind of help he sought.

The Bottom Line

That’s because the five-year program focuses on new, creative ways to improve access to rural health care, not on directly funding services and renovations. And Montana is one of at least 10 states whose leaders say projects shipped under the federal program could lead rural hospitals to cut services so they can continue to afford to offer emergency and other essential care.

What’s your take on this whole situation?