March 23, 2026: 2026 Projections for Rural Hospitals, Damage Report Updates & a Rural Retail Pharmacy

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

News sources for this episode:

Lunna Lopes Et al., “Cost Concerns and Coverage Changes: A Follow-Up Survey of ACA Marketplace Enrollees,” March 19, 2026, https://www.kff.org/public-opinion/a-follow-up-survey-of-aca-marketplace-enrollees/, KFF Health News.

Julie Appleby, “Many ACA Customers Are Paying Higher Premiums. Most Blame Trump and Republicans, Poll Finds.,” March 19, 2026, https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/kff-poll-aca-obamacare-higher-premiums-blame-trump-gop/, KFF Health News.

Chartis, “2026 rural health state of the state,” February 10, 2026, https://www.chartis.com/insights/2026-rural-health-state-state. 

Reuters, “Stryker says cyberattack on its network contained,” March 17, 2026, https://www.reuters.com/technology/stryker-says-cyberattack-its-network-contained-2026-03-17/. 

Ron Southwick, “The Stryker cyberattack and what hospitals should be doing,” March 13, 2026, https://www.chiefhealthcareexecutive.com/view/the-stryker-cyberattack-and-what-hospitals-should-be-doing, Chief Healthcare Executive.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Measles Cases and Outbreaks,” March 13, 2026, https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html. 

Michigan Health & Hospital Association, “Hospitals Help: Mackinac Straits Retail Pharmacy Serves as a Lifeline in Northern Michigan,” March 6, 2026, https://www.mha.org/newsroom/hospitals-help-mackinac-straits-retail-pharmacy-serves-as-a-lifeline-in-northern-michigan/. 

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.