Maternity ward closure in rural Oregon signals wider threat amid looming Medicaid cuts

Rural hospitals in Oregon struggled to maintain maternity care even before Medicaid cuts

Rural hospitals were already cutting their obstetrics programs before Republicans in Congress passed a bill to slash Medicaid funding. With roughly half of all Oregon births covered by Medicaid, hospital administrators say it is likely that more hospitals

Maternity ward closure in rural Oregon signals wider threat amid looming Medicaid cuts

It was the middle of the night on April 2, 2024, when Teela Banister went into labor. She and her husband raced out the door of their rural home on the outskirts of Baker City in eastern Oregon, hoping to make the hour-long journey to a hospital before she delivered their daughter.

A rural Oregon town lost its maternity ward. As Trump’s Medicaid cuts loom, other hospitals may be next • Lincoln Chronicle

Maternity wards in small, rural hospitals across Oregon -- including in Lincoln County -- are in danger of closing and offer a sobering glimpse of challenges many more families could face under changes to Medicaid made as part of President Donald Trump’s signature tax cuts and spending package, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” The post A rural Oregon town lost its maternity ward. As Trump’s Medicaid cuts loom, other hospitals may be next a…