Trump says $50B rural health plan funded by cutting Medicaid 'waste, fraud and abuse'
President Donald Trump is celebrating an increase in funding for healthcare focused particularly on rural communities across the country. Trump said the move was made possible by cutting "waste, fraud and abuse from Medicaid."
"As part of the Great Big Beautiful Bill, we've increased, and we have increased funding for the healthcare by an unprecedented $50 billion. That's rural healthcare. Nobody thought that was going to happen," Trump said during a roundtable on Friday.
The One Big Beautiful Bill directs half of the rural health funding to be distributed evenly among all 50 states, with the remaining funds allocated based on state-specific factors, including the condition of rural hospitals.
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"We increased funding for rural health care by an unprecedented, record-setting $50 billion over five years, which will benefit Americans in all 50 states, and this was made possible by cutting massive waste, fraud and abuse from Medicaid and reinvesting those funds to revitalize hospitals in our cherished rural communities," he added.
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The roundtable, which included Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz, was aimed at promoting the Trump administration's Great Healthcare Plan. The plan was announced during a White House press briefing on Thursday.
Some have described the proposal as an effort by Trump to shape Republican messaging ahead of the 2026 midterm elections as the party tries to hold onto its slim majorities in the House and Senate.
In its fact sheet on the plan, the White House highlighted several main points, including lowering drug prices, lowering insurance premiums, holding insurance companies accountable and maximizing price transparency. Trump touched on several of the elements of the plan during the roundtable and said that hospitals that accept Medicaid and Medicare will be required to prominently post prices so that patients are aware of the cost of their care.
During the roundtable on Friday, Trump implored Congress to enact the Great Healthcare Plan, but the president said that he was confident Republicans would back it.