Cuellar: Proposed cuts to Medicaid could force rural hospitals to close their doors

Hello everyone and thank you for being here today. 

I would like to especially thank the Starr County Memorial Hospital board and the administrative team for partaking in this discussion. 

It’s an honor to join our healthcare professionals today, those who work every day to keep our communities healthy, safe and strong.

We gather at a pivotal moment right now. Our rural hospitals, our health care workers and our patients face a threat. That threat is the proposed federal cuts to Medicaid and rollbacks to the Affordable Care Act that would devastate access to care, especially in communities like ours in South Texas.

More than 71 million Americans nationwide rely on Medicaid for their health coverage. If the proposed changes to Medicaid are enacted, and an estimated 16 million Americans could lose their coverage. In rural communities alone, 16.1 million people are covered by Medicaid. And 1.8 million people in these rural areas would lose their coverage by 2034.

Medicaid in Texas: Learning and Lifesaving

Let me be clear, Texas already runs one of the most efficient Medicaid programs in the country. Our cost growth is 38% lower than the national average. Yet these cuts would strip away between $29 billion and $55 billion in federal funds over the next decade. They threaten 142,000 health care jobs and would cost our economy over half a billion dollars every year. That’s not reform. That’s reckless. 

The impact on Texas’ 28th Congressional District

Over 54,000 of our neighbors are projected to lose health insurance coverage – 46,000 through Medicaid cuts and 8,400 through ACA cuts. That means over 50,000 people could be one accident, one illness or one diagnosis away from disaster, with no affordable coverage to protect them. Just in our district alone.

These proposed cuts would force local clinics and hospitals to reduce services or even close their doors. That’s not just bad for health care. It’s bad for jobs, for local economies, for our families and for our future. 

Rural hospitals on the brink

Rural hospitals serve as the lifeblood of our communities. They provide maternal care, pediatric care, emergency services, and much more, to populations that have limited healthcare options to turn to. They do so while operating on thin margins. In fact, about 48% of rural hospitals operate at a financial loss.

With the proposed Medicaid funding cuts, we increase the risk of closure for many rural hospitals as this funding is their backbone.

Standing Up for Our Communities

We must prioritize the needs of our communities by ensuring that critical Medicaid and ACA programs remain fully funded and accessible. The health of our neighbors, the strength of our hospitals, and the future of rural Texas depend on it. 

I will continue working with my colleagues in Congress to oppose these harmful proposals. I will continue to fight to protect our hospitals, our jobs and every patient in TX-28 and across our great state. 

Thank you and please know I stand with you in this fight. God Bless.

Editor’s Note: The above commentary provided the prepared remarks for a roundtable on Medicaid U.S. Rep. Henry’s Cuellar held at Starr County Memorial Hospital on Thursday, June 19, 2025.

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