Karen Holcomb-Merrill

Growing up in rural Michigan, I learned early on how important community is. We cheered on the football team and showed up to school events. We checked in on our neighbors when we didn’t hear from them. We dropped off meals to older folks. We looked out for each other.

That community support has guided me throughout life, and it is what drew me into the work of public policy. Working to support policies that lift Michiganders out of poverty and help kids thrive is one more way to serve our communities.

But with the passage of the latest federal budget bill, Michigan communities — especially rural communities — are about to face some serious challenges.

The bill will make the deepest cuts in history to people’s food assistance and Medicaid, which are vital to the health and stability of small towns. While these decisions were made in Washington, the consequences will be felt most by people far from the Capitol.

Medicaid is the backbone of rural health care, and nearly 30,000 jobs throughout Michigan are supported by it, including nurses, hospital staff, mental health professionals and home care workers. When that funding disappears, so do jobs, services and, in some cases, entire facilities. For rural communities already grappling with limited access to health care, this could be devastating.

Hospitals and clinics, many of which are already operating on razor-thin margins, may have to close or scale back. Just this week, three rural hospitals in Michigan were flagged for potential closure due to Medicaid cuts. In rural areas, that means more people traveling longer distances for care, or going without it entirely. When preventive care isn’t available, emergencies become more frequent and more expensive.

And as more people turn to county-level emergency services to meet their basic needs, local governments will feel the squeeze. Many may be forced to raise taxes or cut other services to make up the difference.

The economic ripple effects are just as serious. Businesses will see more workforce instability as employees struggle with untreated health issues. Employers may face higher insurance premiums. And Michigan’s budget stands to lose billions in federal Medicaid dollars — a blow not just to health care, but to local economies across the state.

This isn’t the future anyone voted for.

We owe it to rural Michiganders — to their resilience, their contributions and their role in the fabric of our state — to push for better. That means rejecting harmful cuts and choosing policies that invest in people.

Even though the bill has passed, Michigan’s leaders still have decisions to make about how to respond, including with our state budget. There is still an opportunity to protect what matters most — the health, safety and economic well-being of every community.