Residents of Curtis, Nebraska expressed complete bewilderment after learning their town's only medical facility would close due to anticipated federal Medicaid cuts, mere months after Frontier County voted for Donald Trump by an 86-point margin.
The Curtis Medical Center, which has served the community of approximately 800 people for over three decades, announced its closure following passage of what Republicans affectionately dubbed the "Big Beautiful Bill." Hospital CEO Troy Bruntz cited "the current financial environment, driven by anticipated federal budget cuts to Medicaid" as making continued operation impossible.
Local residents gathered at the town's only gas station to discuss the shocking turn of events, with many expressing confusion about how voting to slash government healthcare funding could possibly affect their own government-funded healthcare.
"We wanted them to cut the waste, not our hospital," said one longtime Curtis resident, who wished to remain anonymous but confirmed he'd voted straight-ticket Republican since Reagan. "When they said they were going to gut Medicaid, I thought they meant for people in cities."
The closure marks what experts predict will be the first of many rural hospital shutdowns across Nebraska, where Medicaid pays for 26% of all emergency room visits, 33% of births, and 44% of services to minors in rural facilities. The Nebraska Rural Health Association estimates six hospitals are currently in critical financial condition, with three facing imminent closure.
Curtis residents will now need to travel significant distances for basic medical care, a minor inconvenience that several locals described as "probably worth it" to ensure the federal government remains fiscally responsible by eliminating healthcare funding for rural Americans.
When informed that Frontier County had given Trump 85.8% of the vote — a county record — while simultaneously depending heavily on the federal healthcare program their representatives campaigned on destroying, several residents expressed surprise that the administration's policies would affect them specifically.
