Medicaid Cuts Are Putting Central Kentucky Hospitals at Risk

Across Central Kentucky, hospitals are more than buildings. They are lifelines.

They are where babies take their first breaths, where stroke victims get emergency care, where seniors manage chronic illness, and where families turn in moments of fear and crisis. In Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District, six hospitals are now at risk of closure because of record cuts to Medicaid.

These cuts aren’t abstract. They have a name, a place, and a consequence, and our communities are already feeling the strain.

What Medicaid Cuts Mean for Central Kentucky

Medicaid is one of the primary ways hospitals in rural and small-town Kentucky keep their doors open. When funding is slashed, hospitals are forced to make impossible choices.

The consequences are severe:

  • Hospital closures or service reductions, especially in rural areas

  • Longer emergency response times, as patients are forced to travel farther for care

  • Loss of local jobs, often among the largest employers in a county

  • Reduced maternity, mental health, and addiction services

  • Higher healthcare costs for everyone left behind

When a hospital closes, it doesn’t just disappear — it creates a healthcare desert that puts lives at risk.

Why Central Kentucky Is Especially Vulnerable

Central Kentucky has a higher share of residents who rely on Medicaid, including:

  • Seniors on fixed incomes

  • Children and families

  • People with disabilities

  • Workers in agriculture, manufacturing, and service jobs that don’t offer employer-sponsored insurance

For many communities in the Sixth District, Medicaid funding is the difference between local access to care and a dangerous drive during an emergency.

These cuts disproportionately harm rural counties and working families. The very people who already face barriers to care.

Cherlynn’s Plan to Protect Central Kentucky Healthcare

Cherlynn believes healthcare should be accessible, affordable, and close to home — not something only available to those who can afford to travel or wait.

In Congress, Cherlynn will:

  • Fight to restore and protect Medicaid funding, especially for rural hospitals

  • Oppose reckless budget cuts that threaten access to emergency and preventive care

  • Champion rural hospital stabilization programs to keep doors open

  • Support healthcare workers, not push them out of their communities

  • Work with local leaders, providers, and patients to strengthen healthcare systems from the ground up

Cherlynn understands that strong communities require strong hospitals — and that cutting Medicaid undermines both.

This Map Tells a Story — But It’s Not the Ending

The hospitals shown on this map represent real people, real families, and real communities now facing uncertainty. These closures are not inevitable. They are the result of political choices — and different choices can be made.

Cherlynn is running to be a voice in Congress who will protect Central Kentucky’s healthcare, stand up to harmful cuts, and ensure that where you live never determines whether you live.

Healthcare should not depend on your ZIP code. Cherlynn is fighting to make sure it doesn’t.