What to know about the impacts Medicaid cuts are having on rural health care

"FRANCONIA, N.H. (AP) - The closing of a health center in rural New Hampshire has raised concerns that the projected cuts in Medicaid are already taking a toll. Last month, a site of the Ammonoosuc Community Health Services in Franconia, a town of around 1,000 people, closed for good. Ammonoosuc officials and a Democratic senator have blamed Medicaid cuts for the closure of the facility that served 1,400 patients from Franconia, Easton, Lincoln and Sugar Hill."

"More than 100 hospitals closed over the past decade, according to the Center For Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, a policy and advocacy group, and more than 700 more hospitals are at risk of closure. A branch of the HealthFirst Family Care Center, a facility in Canaan, New Hampshire also announced it was closing at the end of October due in part to "changes in Medicaid reimbursement and federal funding" for these facilities."

A site of Ammonoosuc Community Health Services in Franconia, N.H., permanently closed after serving about 1,400 patients from nearby small towns. Officials and a senator attributed the closure to projected Medicaid cuts, noting patients in these White Mountains communities tend to be older and sicker. A HealthFirst Family Care Center branch in Canaan cited changes in Medicaid reimbursement and federal funding when announcing its closure. More than 100 hospitals closed over the past decade and roughly 700 more are at risk. Federally funded community health centers are losing money, relying on cash reserves and closing locations to stay afloat.

Read at Boston.com