The Harris-Walz campaign has revealed its plan to leverage big-government programs to attract doctors to rural hospitals. But will there be any rural hospitals left?
Recruiting doctors and nurses to live and work in rural communities has been a challenge for decades. But that challenge pales in comparison to the dangers that Medicaid expansion poses to rural health care, especially with the ongoing threat of rural hospital closures.
Since Obamacare was enacted in 2014, 40 states have expanded Medicaid beyond the traditional populations of seniors, individuals with disabilities and children in low-income homes to also include able-bodied adults. Income limits for these able-bodied exceed the poverty line, and most of these welfare recipients don’t work at all. This expansion has steadily diminished the safety net, high-quality health care and state budgets. (RELATED: SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE: The Dangerous Biden-Harris Plan To Leave Our Veterans Behind)
Able-bodied adults — who could obtain free or heavily subsidized health coverage through exchange plans or employer-sponsored plans — have merged into the line for services alongside truly needy populations who rely on the program.
Waiting lists remain long for vulnerable individuals, and health outcomes haven’t........