August 31, 2026: Facility Fee Proposals, National Storm Damage & Expanding Primary Care Access in Texas

Rural Health News is a weekly segment of Rural Health Today, a podcast by Hillsdale Hospital.

News sources for this episode:

Twilight Greenaway Et al., “Hurricane Lala Passes Big Island: Hawaiʻi Spared From Direct Hit,” August 15, 2026, https://www.civilbeat.org/2026/08/hurricane-lala-brings-rain-and-strong-winds-thousands-on-hawaii-island-lose-power/, Honolulu Civil Beat.

Joseph S. Pete, “2 Methodist Hospitals campuses have power again, offering public food and services,” August 18, 2026, https://nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/article_58a16c9f-b147-427c-bed9-9007ad31f581.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_The_Times_of_Northwest_Indiana&fbclid=IwY2xjawT9erNwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR4BcplBpGKi72APyCMIiTHemUnNCkZM9vFSlXN-Wzg6GYqmTX86J6DqJ35WCA_aem_knYqaiBHKDJx0OGlMzTrlQ, NWI Times.

Aaron Dorman, “Power Down,” August 26, 2026, https://chicagohealthonline.com/northwest-indiana-storms-power-outage-health/, Chicago Health.

The Associated Press, “'Survival mode': Indiana residents endure a ninth day without power,” August 21, 2026, https://www.wunc.org/2026-08-21/survival-mode-indiana-residents-endure-a-ninth-day-without-power, WUNC News.

Kristiane Huber, “How States Are Navigating the Intersection of Disasters and Public Health,” May 5, 2026, https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2026/05/05/how-states-are-navigating-the-intersection-of-disasters-and-public-health, The Pew Charitable Trust.

American Hospital Association, “Fact Sheet: Facility Fees,” February 2025, https://www.aha.org/fact-sheets/2025-02-20-fact-sheet-facility-fees.

Stephen Abresch, “Michigan Introduces Facility Fee Restriction Legislation,” April 10, 2026, https://archive.ascfocus.org/content2/articles-content/articles/2026/digital-debut/michigan-introduces-facility-fee-restriction-legislation, ASC Focus.

Jayme Lozano Carver, “Lack of broadband service, funding gives rise to telehealth services in rural clinics,” August 6, 2026, https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/06/rural-texas-telehealth-services-broadband-access/, The Texas Tribune.

Rural Health Today is a production of Hillsdale Hospital in Hillsdale, Michigan and a member of the Health Podcast Network. Our host is JJ Hodshire, our producer is Kyrsten Newlon, and our audio engineer is Kenji Ulmer. Special thanks to our special guests for sharing their expertise on the show, and also to the Hillsdale Hospital marketing team. If you want to submit a question for us to answer on the podcast or learn more about Rural Health Today, visit ruralhealthtoday.com.