Trump’s $50B Rural Health Bet Meets a Healthcare Desert in North Carolina

Republicans promise that $50 billion in new health funding will help rural America. But it’s not expected to aid the years-long effort in North Carolina’s Martin County to reopen its only hospital.

By: Sarah Jane Tribble and Amanda Seitz

Outlets: KFF Health News

Published: May 22, 2026

Words: 2,034

Last Updated: 2 months ago

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WILLIAMSTON, N.C. — Two years after her brother’s death, Debra Pierce still wonders whether the 50-year-old would have survived his heart attack if her local hospital hadn’t closed.

“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 …

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