Dr. Joy Baker, an obstetrician and gynecologist within the Wellstar Health System, has seen patients who have driven from two and a half hours away for care. Some within the health care industry are calling this a crisis and fear things are about to get worse.
Once the One Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law on July 4, 2025, by President Donald Trump, it triggered coverage cuts to Medicaid. For rural hospitals that treat large numbers of Medicaid recipients, that means less revenue. According to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, Georgia currently has 71 rural hospitals, and the loss of funds is putting as many as 20 rural hospitals at risk of closing and 28 could experience a loss of services.
In September, St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital in rural northeast Georgia was forced to close its labor and delivery unit, and it’s an hour drive to the next maternity care facility in Athens. In southeast Georgia, Evans Memorial Hospital has already closed its OB/GYN unit, and the intensive care unit might be next. With nine rural hospitals closing since 2010, local health advocates say Georgia ranks third in the nation for hospital closures.
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