Kentucky’s lieutenant governor is sharing her personal story of why rural hospital and the fight for Medicaid hit close to home.

Jacqueline Coleman and Congressman Morgan McGarvey hosted a panel on the defunding of Planned Parenthood and Medicaid.

Women’s healthcare was the focal point of the discussion.

Coleman had a public breast cancer scare and said since that day, she couldn’t stop asking herself what if she didn’t have access to the mammogram that found it early?

She said Planned Parenthood has helped cover the need for care in many of Kentucky’s rural counties. About  48% of births in Kentucky are covered by Medicaid.

Coleman explained that if Medicaid happened to be dismantled, women who are low income would not have access to prenatal or preventative services they need. She warned it would also lead to the closure of rural hospitals.

“I can guarantee you this, just like with most other societal challenges, when rural hospitals close, it will be the women who bear the brunt of it,” she said.

Coleman said if Medicaid and Planned Parenthood suffer, the number of women with cervical cancer or maternal mortality will rise in rural Kentucky.

She was advocating for congressmen like McGarvey to let doctors and patients decide their own care.

Across the United States, at least 200 hospitals have closed in the last 10 years.

According to the Center for Health Care Equality and Payment Center, there are four rural hospitals in Kentucky at immediate risk of closing while 16 others are struggling.

The center said financial costs in rural communities are higher than metro areas because of the distance services have to travel.

Another reason is the decrease in local and federal aid and COVID era funding coming to an end.


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