by
Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchirist II
The budget bill President Trump signed into law in July is expected to result in severe Medicaid cuts in Michigan, potentially jeopardizing the operations of three rural hospitals in the state that depend on those funds. These cuts could also leave as many as 200,000 people without health coverage.
According to the Michigan Independent, the three affected hospitals are McLaren Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant; UM Health–Sparrow Carson (formerly known as Carson City Hospital) in Carson City; and Ascension Borgess-Lee Hospital in Dowagiac.
Democratic Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, who is running for governor in 2026, addressed concerns about the Medicaid cuts and their impact on rural hospitals in a recent interview with Perry Bacon on The New Republic’s twice-weekly show, Right Now with Perry Bacon.
"There are rural communities all over the state of Michigan that have safety-net hospitals that service people," Gilchrist says. "And they might be the only maternity ward for a hundred miles. They exist there so women [can] go there to get care and to deliver babies safely and things like that."
"What this Trump administration has done—this what I call the MAGA murder budget—is it frankly puts those women’s lives at risk. It puts children’s lives at risk. It puts people with disabilities’ lives at risk. It puts seniors’ lives at risk. They’re going to die faster as a result of it. And people from Michigan really feel a sense of urgency about that."
Gilchrist, 42, has served as lieutenant governor since 2019.
To read a transcript of the interview click here:
