On this episode of Paging America, hosts Miles Baker and Dr. Rob Davidson sit down with Dr. Shelly Johnson, a registered nurse, professor, and former rural hospital executive, for a deep dive into the looming crisis facing rural hospitals across America following Republicans’ Medicaid cuts. Dr. Johnson breaks down how Medicaid cuts uniquely threaten small-town hospitals and why these closures could devastate entire communities.

Background reading:

• The Hill: Rollins suggests Medicaid recipients can replace deported farmworkers

• KFF: Understanding the Intersection of Medicaid and Work: An Update

• Bureau of Labor Statistics: Agricultural Workers

• KFF: Potential Implications of Immigration Restrictions on the U.S. Agricultural Workforce

• USDA: Farm Labor

• The Hill: RFK Jr.: ‘No cuts on Medicaid’ in ‘big, beautiful’ law

• The Senate Democrats’ Letter on Rural Hospitals is HERE

• POLITICO: The megabill’s Medicaid cuts shocked hospitals, but they may never happen

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