July 27, 2026: CMS Proposal for Provider Tax Reduction, Rural Trauma Care & High School Rural Health Programs

Rural Health News is a weekly segment of Rural Health Today, a podcast by Hillsdale Hospital. News sources for this episode: Alan Condon, “CMS proposes Medicaid provider tax rule to cut federal spending by $246B: 8 things to know,” July 22, 2026, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/cms-proposes-medicaid-provider-tax-rule-to-cut-federal-spending-by-246b-8-things-to-know/, Becker’s Hospital Review. American Hospital Association, “CMS issues proposed provider tax rule,” July 21, 2026, https://www.aha.org/news/headline/2026-07-21-cms-issues-proposed-provider-tax-rule. Amani Sampson, MD, MS Et al., “Unequal paths to care: How region, rurality, and deprivation determine transport to verified trauma centers among the critically injured,” August 2026, https://www.surgjournal.com/article/S0039-6060(26)00157-1/fulltext, Surgery Journal. Don Hartley, “Youths Get A Jumpstart on Rural Healthcare At UA,” https://tuscaloosathread.com/alabama-rural-health-pipeline-students/, Tuscaloosa Thread. Rural Health Today is a production of Hillsdale Hospital in Hillsdale, Michigan and a member of the Health Podcast Network. Our host is JJ Hodshire, our producer is Kyrsten Newlon, and our audio engineer is Kenji Ulmer. Special thanks to our special guests for sharing their expertise on the show, and also to the Hillsdale Hospital marketing team. If you want to submit a question for us to answer on the podcast or learn more about Rural Health Today, visit ruralhealthtoday.com.