Federal Policy
Trump Bill Allocates $213M for Rural Health, Cuts $900B from Medicaid Over Decade
President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) includes $213 million for rural health programs while cutting over $900 billion from Medicaid over 10 years, per CBO analysis. North Carolina plans to use its share of rural health funding to expand maternal health initiatives including postpartum identification wristbands. Georgetown researchers warn the law's Medicaid cuts and new work requirements threaten state postpartum coverage extensions from 60 days to one year that nearly all states adopted since 2022. States may now eliminate those extensions or inadvertently drop postpartum enrollees who should be exempt from work requirements.
Why it mattersMedicaid covers at least 40 percent of U.S. births, so $900 billion in federal cuts over 10 years will force state agencies to cut eligibility, benefits, or provider rates — potentially including the postpartum coverage extensions adopted by nearly every state since 2022.