'We'll never know if he could have been saved.' The gaps in Trump's rural health fund

A woman in Martin County, North Carolina, questions whether her brother could have survived a heart attack after the local hospital closed. Emergency responders from a neighboring town worked for about half an hour but could not revive him for transport to a distant hospital. The county lacks paramedics on its ambulances and can require travel of 20 miles or more to often overcrowded emergency rooms. The situation reflects broader rural healthcare shortages tied to a proposed $50 billion rural health fund created under a major tax and spending measure. Republican candidates portray the anticipated funding as a lifeline for strengthening rural health services, including in North Carolina.

"“The sad thing is we'll never know if he could have been saved that night or not, because we don't have a higher level of care in this county,” Pierce said as she stood outside the mobile home where she last hugged her brother. Emergency crews from a neighboring town worked on Stanley Sears for a half hour but couldn't revive him for the long drive to the closest hospital, records show."

"“Bless him.” The local hospital had closed a year before Sears' death, leaving behind a gutted healthcare system. Martin County does not have paramedics on its ambulances, and it can be 20 miles or more to the closest and often overcrowded emergency rooms."

"The healthcare gaps in Martin County illustrate the finite reach of a $50 billion rural health fund that Republicans crafted to strengthen support for President Donald Trump's signature tax and spending measure, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, last year. Though the cash has not been doled out, Republican candidates in competitive midterm elections are casting the fund as a lifeline that will shore up critical rural health services across America."

"Pierce, a Republican who blames county officials for the hospital closure, said she has faith Trump will help them. “Old man's doing his job up in there,” she said. On paper, Martin County—home to about 22,000 people—looks like a top contender to receive at least some of the $213 mill"

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