The following column was published by the Lapeer County Press on Sunday, Feb. 8:

With a rural population this size, it is important that all taxpayers have access to critical services, including lifesaving health care and obstetrical and gynecological centers.

According to data from the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, the average rural Michigan resident is over 15 miles from the closest hospital with a birthing center. This is nearly double the state average. The residents of nearly one-third of Michigan’s rural counties live over 30 miles from a hospital with a birthing center. Nearly 500,000 rural residents in our state live in a county without one OB/GYN facility.

Our hospitals are also struggling. Roughly 25% in rural areas are operating on negative margins, and 75% of this number are the sole hospital in their communities. If they are forced to close their doors, travel will get longer for emergencies and needed care, fewer specialists will be available, and there will be fewer positive health outcomes for patients. That’s something nobody wants to see.

I have been working in the Legislature to preserve access to rural health care. This includes leading discussions to help emergency medical service providers in rural counties, fighting for expanded mental health care, bills that help health care professionals grow their careers and get more of them into our communities, and other efforts. There has also been work being done at the federal level that I wanted to highlight.

Through the signed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Michigan was awarded $173 million via the Rural Health Transformation Program, which is an initiative to expand access, modernize technology, and strengthen the health care workforce. Over a five-year period, $50 billion in funding will be made available to states through this program, and the state’s Dept. of Health and Human Services will be responsible for administering the funds.

As a member of the House Appropriations Committee and chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Health, there are a few issues that have come up pertaining to this program that I am working to stay on top of for our rural communities and families.

It is concerning that Michigan received the eighth lowest amount of Rural Health Transformation dollars given our rural population size comparative to other states. Neighboring states such as Iowa and Ohio got tens of millions of dollars more. Funding allotments and their corresponding requests can change year-to-year, so it is imperative that MDHHS fights for every dollar and that Michigan sees a total that is reflective of our population numbers. The Department has also discussed allowing some of the state’s largest counties to qualify for federal rural healthcare grants that are intended to support our rural hospitals.

Available services drive the health and well-being of our rural communities. Given the opportunity presented by this new federal program, we must prioritize this issue at the state level.