More than 80 million people rely on Medicaid.

It's the single largest source of funding for states providing health coverage for low-income Americans and people living with disabilities.

But President Trump's massive spending bill, which passed last year,

is expected to cut the program by nearly a trillion dollars over the next decade. Hospitals could be

among the hardest hit. Medicaid covers about a fifth of all hospital spending, that's according

to KFF Health News. A new report from the progressive think tank, Public Citizen, predicts that more than

440 hospitals are at risk of closing or reducing services in the years ahead. In states like

Connecticut, California, New York, Massachusetts, and Washington, public citizen projects that

more than a quarter of hospitals are at risk of shuttering or cutting services.

We should note that some hospitals named in the report challenge its findings. We'll hear what one of

them shared later. But it's clear that obstetrics care could be hit especially hard by these Medicaid

cuts. It's one of the most expensive services provided by hospitals, and Medicaid pays for nearly

40% of all births in the U.S.

So we'll talk about the future of delivery and labor units later on, but first, what does

the potential loss of hundreds of hospitals due to these funding cuts mean for the quality

and availability of health care in our country? I'm Jen White. You're listening to the 1A podcast.

We'll be back with more after this quick break. Welcome back to the 1A podcast. We're talking about the effects of

Medicaid cuts on hospitals and medical care in the U.S. Let's get into it and meet our panel.

Joining us in studio is Julie

Rovner. She's Chief Washington correspondent for KFF Health News. She hosts their weekly health

policy podcast, What the Health. It's distributed by our producing station, WAMU. Julie, it's always

great to have you on. Always a pleasure to be here. Also with us is Dr. Howard Foreman. He's a professor of radiology

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