People in rural areas of Arizona will likely face greater health and injury risks, now that President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” has been signed into law.
That’s because the following rural hospitals are now at risk of closing, according to a University of North Carolina study:
- Page Hospital (Page)
- Little Colorado Medical Center (Winslow)
- Copper Queen Community Hospital (Bisbee)
- Carondelet Holy Cross Hospital (Nogales)
- Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center (Globe)
Those five cities account for nearly 50,000 Arizonans. Roughly 400,000 Arizonans live across the five impacted counties, in similar smaller towns that may or may not have dedicated hospitals.
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At particular risk? Pregnant people in rural regions, who would be forced to travel further for regular exams and check-ups, and especially when they need to give birth or when there’s a complication.
Several Arizona counties already have fewer than one OB-GYN per 10,000 women. That number could get worse if rural hospitals close their doors—and Trump’s bill, which cuts taxes for the wealthiest people in the US, will make that much more likely.
Pregnancy-related mortality is already 1.7 times higher for people in rural counties compared with larger, urban counties.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, wrote a letter on July 1 to both senators and all representatives from Arizona urging them to vote against the bill because of how it would shock the health care system throughout the country.
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“Labor and delivery units will close,” Hobbs wrote. “Essential services will be eliminated. Hospitals across the state will shut their doors. Arizonans will have to drive farther for both routine and emergency care.”
“As elected officials, we are called to put the best interest of the people we represent over politics. Now is a time to do just that and reject this dangerous legislation. This bill is not a conservative solution; it is a reckless gamble that puts our most vulnerable at risk,” Hobbs concluded in her letter.
Arizona’s senators, Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, both Democrats, voted against the bill. Six Republicans from Arizona—David Schweikert, Abe Hamadeh, Andy Biggs, Eli Crane, Juan Ciscomani, and Paul Gosar—voted for the bill.
Trump signed the bill into law on July 4.
