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- 'Attack on rural America': Kentucky governor hits Medicaid cuts in Trump's megabill</p>
<p>Riley Beggin, USA TODAY July 6, 2025 at 8:42 AM</p>
<p>Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear argued the Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump's sweeping tax policy bill will have a "devastating" impact on rural communities.</p>
<p>"It's the single worst piece of legislation I've seen in my lifetime, and it is a congressional Republican and presidential attack on rural America," the Democrat told CNN's Dana Bash in a July 6 interview on "State of the Union."</p>
<p>He said around 200,000 people in Kentucky are could lose their healthcare under the bill, which implements new work requirements for Medicaid and a raft of other restrictions that healthcare experts argue will trigger hospital closures in rural areas.</p>
<p>Lawmakers included a $50 billion fund in the legislation to prop up these hospitals, but experts say it won't be enough to make up for the $155 billion expected decline in federal Medicaid spending in rural areas.</p>
<p>Beshear, who is considered a potential presidential candidate for the party in 2028, said up to 35 rural hospitals in Kentucky could be at risk of closing as a result of the bill.</p>
<p>"What that means is our economy takes a huge hit," he said.</p>
<p>"You lose 200 jobs from doctors and nurses and orderlies and all of a sudden the coffee shop does worse, the bank doesn't have as many folks coming in. This is going to hit rural America right in the face."</p>
<p>Still, Republicans have argued that the biggest expected cut to Medicaid – the implementation of work requirements for able-bodied adults – is popular among voters, and other changes such as more frequent eligibility checks are common sense options.</p>
<p>Democrats "unfortunately seem to think that poor people are stupid. I don't think poor people are stupid. I think they have agency, and I think to have them register twice a year for these benefits is not a burden," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said on CNN on July 6.</p>
<p>"People who want to infantilize the poor and people who need these Medicaid benefits are alarmist."</p>
<p>Republicans in Congress passed the massive tax-cut and spending package on July 3. Trump signed it into law on July 4.</p>
<p>It was the key goal for Trump and Republican leadership in Congress, which captured a trifecta during the 2024 elections and has used that political muscle to force what they've dubbed their "One Big, Beautiful Bill" through both chambers at a rapid-fire pace.</p>
<p>The passage came despite deep reservations within their own party and unanimous opposition from Democrats who see it as a ticket to winning back congressional majorities in 2026.</p>
<p>This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Beshear calls Trump's Medicaid cuts an 'attack on rural America'</p>
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