July 21, 2025 News Update: The Impact of Federal Funding Cuts, Confusing New Policies and a Critical Designation Helping Rural Hospitals Stay Open

Rural Health News is a weekly segment of Rural Health Today, a podcast by Hillsdale Hospital. News sources for this episode: National Rural Health Association, “Site Neutral Policies and Rural Hospitals,” https://www.ruralhealth.us/nationalruralhealth/media/documents/site-neutral-one-pager.pdf. Stephen T. Parente, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, “Parente ST. Impact of Site-Neutral Payments for Commercial and Employer-Sponsored Plans,” Jan-Dec, 2024, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11348360/, PubMed Central. Michael McAuliff, “Site-neutral Medicare pay eyed to fund Trump tax cuts,” March 18, 2025, https://www.modernhealthcare.com/politics-policy/site-neutral-legislation-policies-tax-cuts/, Modern Healthcare. Andrew Cass, “House GOP eyes deeper Medicaid, Medicare cuts in next budget bill: Bloomberg,” July 14, 2025, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/house-gop-eyes-deeper-medicaid-medicare-cuts-in-next-budget-bill-bloomberg/, Becker’s Hospital Review. Erik Wasson & David Gura, “Next Trump Budget Bill Begins Taking Shape in US House, July 14, 2025, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-14/next-trump-budget-bill-begins-taking-shape-in-us-house?embedded-checkout=true, Bloomberg. Vanessa G. Sanchez, “Lost in Translation: Interpreter Cutbacks Could Put Patient Lives on the Line,” July 16, 2025, https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/medical-interpreter-funding-staff-cuts-patient-lives-english-language-services/, KFF Health News. Mariah Taylor, “Medical interpreter services in limbo amid federal pressures,” July 16, 2025, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/care-coordination/medical-interpreter-services-in-limbo-amid-federal-pressures/, Becker’s Hospital Review. Rachana Pradhan & Arthur Allen, “World’s Premier Cancer Institute Faces Crippling Cuts and Chaos,” Updated July 14, 2025, https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/national-cancer-institute-nih-cuts-chaos-scientific-biomedical-research/, KFF Health News. Andrew Cass, “Rural emergency model emerging as lifeline for shuttered hospitals,” July 11, 2025, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/rural-emergency-model-emerging-as-lifeline-for-shuttered-hospitals/, Becker’s Hospital Review. 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. Follow Rural Health Today on social media! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/RuralHealthPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@ruralhealthtoday7665⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Hillsdale Hospital on social media! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/hillsdalehospital/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/hillsdalehosp/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/hillsdale-community-health-center/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/hillsdalehospital/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠