The
One
Big
Beautiful
Bill
Act’s
new
$50
billion
rural
hospital
fund
is
a
positive
step
toward
advancing
rural
health
infrastructure
—
but
short-term
injections
of
cash
won’t
fix
deeply
rooted
systemic
challenges,
one
expert
pointed
out.
“Money
is
not
the
only
answer,”
said
Jason
Griffin,
managing
director
at
consulting
firm
Nordic
Global.
During
his
time
at
Nordic,
Griffin
has
worked
alongside
organizations
like
Microsoft
and
CHIME
to
help
modernize
rural
hospitals’
IT
infrastructure
and
expand
the
use
of
digital
health
tools
amid
ongoing
workforce
and
reimbursement
challenges.
He
knows
that
rural
providers’
stability
is
deeply
threatened
by
looming
Medicaid
cuts.
While
last-minute
funding
was
added
as
a
stopgap,
Griffin
noted
it
will
only
cover
about
37%
of
these
providers’
potential
losses
over
the
next
five
years.
In
the
future,
he
said
he
would
like
to
see
federal
and
state
governments
invest
in
infrastructure
—
such
as
reliable
broadband
connectivity
and
stable
EHR
systems
—
instead
of
leaving
rural
hospitals
to
shoulder
costs.
Better
infrastructure
would
enable
sustainable
telehealth
and
value-based
care,
Griffin
added.
Federal
and
state
funding
should
also
support
healthcare
workforce
development
in
rural
communities,
including
partnerships
with
universities
and
medical
training
programs,
he
stated.
“All
of
that
really
would
be
needed
to
support
long-term
sustainability
with
that
cash
injection.
I
mean,
we
can
spend
a
lot
of
money,
and
then
five
years
from
now,
be
in
the
same
boat,”
Griffin
remarked.
Cybersecurity
is
one
area
where
rural
hospitals’
staffing
challenges
are
especially
acute,
he
noted
—
pointing
out
that
these
providers
often
have
only
four
or
five
people
in
their
IT
departments
Most
rural
providers
struggle
to
manage
third-party
risk,
which
is
now
a
leading
cause
of
healthcare
data
breaches,
Griffin
said.
“Extended
downtime,
even
over
a
week,
can
shut
your
organization
down
permanently.
And
we’ve
seen
these
breaches
cause
up
to
five
or
six
weeks
of
downtime
—
and
it
just
can’t
be
sustained,”
he
declared.
Rural
hospitals
must
constantly
choose
between
investing
in
clinical
equipment
or
cybersecurity
—
which
is
a
burden
urban
hospitals
don’t
face,
Griffin
added.
He
also
noted
that
there
are
no
requirements
for
state-by-state
reporting
or
for
measuring
outcomes
tied
to
the
funding.
He
stressed
the
need
for
metrics
—
such
as
emergency
department
wait
times
and
maternal
health
outcomes
—
to
track
whether
this
funding
improves
care
for
rural
communities.
In
Griffin’s
view,
a
one-time
cash
injection
risks
being
wasted
without
clear
investment
strategies.
He
believes
investments
should
go
toward
infrastructure
improvements,
workforce
development
and
shared
services.