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Culture War Roundup for the week of August 11, 2025

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and nobody other than the local residents has given a shit.

That's not true at all, there's programs like the rural health fund and the the start of rural emergency hospitals program in 2023 and stuff like that being created to help keep them open and functioning.

Rural healthcare struggles to break even yet alone turn a profit, even more would be shutting down if it wasn't for Medicaid/Medicare and programs like that.

And there's extra benefits even within these programs like how sole community hospitals get higher rates

Sole community hospitals (SCHs) are hospitals that are the only source of short-term, acute inpatient care in a region. Medicare reimburses some SCHs at higher rates than they would have received under IPPS, including based on historical costs. Since 2006, CMS has also increased OPPS rates for rural SCHs. SCHs receive $0.8 billion in higher payments annually (including low-volume adjustments to SCHs) according to a 2022 MedPAC report.

It's arguably not enough, but it's definitely helping rural healthcare stay afloat when they're literally just given more money.

Could you explain how this is different and why I should be more concerned?

It's not different, we are doing stuff to try to help our rural hospitals already and we should keep doing that stuff and help more.

Or, for that matter, why people who aren't from here and didn't care then should care now?

Rural communities and urban communities depend on each other. Urban zones might be the main money areas but they need things from the rural areas still like food or that high quality quartz.

Also ya know, empathy, religious duty, etc other general reasons to help out others in need.

Also keep in mind these cuts aren't impacting just the rural areas anyway. Less funds for mental institutions and the like will have an impact on the urban areas.