Earlier Lifeline for Rural Hospitals Faces Test Under ‘Big Beautiful’ Law

A century-old rural Michigan hospital converted to a stripped-down model Congress created to help keep small facilities afloat, then it closed. The emergency hospital model, created a few years ago, is stabilizing some hospitals, arrived too late for others, and now faces major challenges under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

By: Sarah Jane Tribble and Tony Leys

Outlets: KFF Health News

Published: August 3, 2026

Words: 1,662

Last Updated: 10 hours, 42 minutes ago

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A century-old hospital near Michigan’s southern border was one of the nation’s first to convert into a new emergency-focused model Congress created to save rural care.

Afterward, though, use of Sturgis Hospital’s emergency department fell, according to data collected at the state level. In June, three years after taking the federal lifeline, the hospital closed, leaving residents of Sturgis, a town of about 11,000 people, without critical healthcare. Its leaders had tried “every reasonable option” …

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