Ballad Health leader says “big beautiful bill” will devastate rural healthcare

Ballad Health CEO Alan Levine took to social media Tuesday evening and said Senate Republicans’ “big beautiful” bill will have “devastating” impacts on healthcare in the region if passed. A portion of the bill related to tax and health was released on Monday and revealed that it contained measures that would make it more difficult for states to pass Medicaid costs onto the federal government. Levine said the bill will ultimately cost Ballad Health more than $200 million annually and that would be devastating to our region, lead to major job losses and will irreparably harm access to health care in the region. Levine said hospitals will be impacted and closed, services will be reduced and fewer doctors will be available in rural areas. Levine said he hopes lawmakers will learn how “catastrophic” the bill will be for communities, specifically in the red states that voted overwhelmingly for President Trump.