Rural Florida Hit Hardest By Trump Medicaid Cuts

President Donald Trump’s plan to slash billions of dollars from Medicaid would hit small town America hardest, especially in Florida, according to a new Georgetown study.

The report shows 57 percent of Florida’s rural and small-town children receive health insurance through Medicaid versus 44 percent of their urban counterparts.  

Researcher Joan Alker says the numbers should correct any misconceptions of Medicaid as a big-city program.

“What’s so I think eye-popping about this research is just how vitally important, in fact even more important, Medicaid is to these small towns and rural communities, many of whom did in fact vote for Donald Trump.”

Florida is one of 14 states where more than half of children in rural and small areas receive health care through Medicaid, Alker says. The cuts would come as the rate of uninsured children living in rural Florida has declined from 16 to 9 percent, according to the report.

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