KENTUCKY (FOX 56) — Results of a July 1 study published by KFF, a nonprofit health policy research and polling center, show that rural Kentuckians are likely to be among those hit the hardest in the nation by the results of the newly passed “Big Beautiful Bill.”
The study examined how rural Americans in all 50 states would be impacted by healthcare changes in the bill. Data shows that on a federal level, Medicaid spending would fall by $1 trillion by 2034.
Pollsters said this decrease in spending would increase the number of uninsured US residents by 11.8 million people.
According to KFF, long-term effects from Medicaid cuts in Kentucky alone are set to lead to a decrease of 17% in Medicaid’s 10-year federal spending baseline.
Kff data shows that federal medicaid spending in kentucky will decrease by over 17% of the program’s 10-year spending baseline, leaving over 130,000 residents without coverage. (kff)
This decrease will translate to a $12.3 billion decrease in federal Medicaid spending in Kentucky, researchers said. Over 130,000 Kentuckians are set to lose coverage due to the projected decreases by 2034.
KFF officials said researchers gathered these costs by cross-referencing each state’s estimated spending reductions outlined in the bill with “urban and rural areas using the percentage of Medicaid spending that paid for services used by rural enrollees within each state.”
In its study results, nonprofit officials said the estimates may understate the impact of these cuts on Americans living in rural areas.
A graph from the study shows that federal medicaid spending in kentucky will decrease by $12. 3 billion by 2034. (kff)
“Federal spending cuts and coverage losses could also have implications for rural hospitals and other providers, including increases in uncompensated care,” KFF wrote. “While providers could potentially offset at least some of the cuts—including through the new rural health funding—any financial pressure on hospitals and other providers could lead to layoffs of staff, more limited investments in quality improvements, fewer services, or additional rural hospital closures.”
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