TULSA, Okla. — Ahead of the U.S. House vote on President Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill", a top Oklahoma hospital official and Tulsa-based maternity care advocate slammed its potential consequences to Medicaid coverage and the very existence of hospitals in rural areas.
City of Stilwell confirmed in June that Stilwell Memorial Hospital would close for good. Stillwater Medical Center President & CEO Denise Webber told 2 News on July 2 that trend would increase in Oklahoma should the bill get signed into law.
WATCH: 'They would potentially die': Hospital CEO, advocate slam Big Beautiful Bill's impact for Oklahomans
"They would potentially die," Webber said when asked what would happen to patients who live in rural areas. "I mean, minutes matter when it comes to saving someone's life. The longer it takes to get the intervention and care that you need, research shows the worse outcome you have."
Webber also chairs Oklahoma Hospital Association but said she could not get a meeting with either Oklahoma U.S. senators prior to the July 1 vote that passed the bill to the House of Representatives.
- Previous coverage >>> Senate GOP narrowly passes Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' sending it back to the House
OHA reports almost half of all the state's Medicaid recipients live in rural areas. Pres. Trump's bill would cut $873 million in Oklahoma hospitals' medicaid reimbursements, Webber said.
"One in four Oklahomans depend on Medicaid," she said. "Prior to expanding and bringing down these federal dollars to our state, less people had access to care. And we have made great progress...These people deserve health care."
"The majority of births that occur in our state are covered by Medicaid," Omare Jimmerson of Oklahoma Birth Equity Initiative told 2 News.
The Big Beautiful Bill's Medicaid restrictions could mean more hurdles for maternity care providers, Jimmerson warns.
"Also, if I have to drive 30-40 minutes versus picking my child up or going to see them at a school play, there's a decision that has to be made," Jimmerson said. "And so, preventative care does not become a priority for people anymore."
Both the state's senators said their support for the legislation is well justified, however.
"The Medicaid program right now is set up where the federal government gives $9 for every $1 a state puts in for a healthy adult," Sen. James Lankford told NBC's Meet The Press on June 8. "But for a disabled child, the federal government puts in $1.30 for every $1. Well, that's backwards, and we don't have any kind of work requirements, as we do with the rest of our social safety net. We're trying to be able to fix that."
"Especially where Pres. Trump won, which he won the red states overwhelmingly, Pres. Trump is popular and the bill is extremely popular," Sen. Markwayne Mullin told the same program on June 29.
Jimmerson said she doesn't trust that rationale for expecting families.
"What we are currently working on is expanding access to different types of services for women who are pregnant," Jimmerson said. "And now to think that this may be out of reach for them once again is insane."
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