NARMC bracing for what Big Beautiful Bill may deliver

North Arkansas Regional Medical Center's Board of Directors held its regular meeting at noon on Tuesday, June 24, at the hospital board room and conducted business that included reports from standing committees and the administration. While most of the information imparted throughout the session was positive, hospital president and CEO Sammie Roberson presented an ominous scenario currently developing at the nation's Capitol.
Roberson and the board know all too well the importance Medicaid dollars are to rural patients' access to health care. What is currently being discussed in the halls of Congress are possible funding cuts that would reduce that access.
Roberson presented an analysis of a bill that threaten's Medicaid. That bill is popularly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act: (H.R. 1).
Citing the American Hospital Association, Roberson noted Medicare covers over 16 million people in rural communities. Under debate are proposed cuts to Medicaid funding that would result in a $50.4 billion reduction in federal Medicaid spending on rural hospitals over 10 years.
Here are some points highlighted in the report:
• 48% of rural hospitals operated at a financial loss in 2023.
• 92 rural hospitals have closed their doors or been unable to continue providing inpatient services over the past 10 years.
• Rural hospitals lose money on several critical service lines, including behavioral health, pulmonology, obstetrics and burns and wounds.
• 47 of rural births in the U.S. are covered by Medicaid
• 65% of nursing home residents in rural counties are covered by Medicaid.
Roberson noted a Hot Springs hospital recently announced it is closing its doors.
According to "Arkansas Money & Politics," After more than 110 years of providing health care in Hot Springs, Levi Hospital will transition into a foundation for community health. Levi Hospital has been a provider of inpatient psychiatric services and outpatient mental health counseling.
The hospital recently announced that it will cease patient care services after Aug. 1. The foundation will focus on behavioral health and social determinants of health through community partnerships and grants.

The decision results from years of strategic planning to address aging infrastructure. Sections of the hospital date back to 1914, and the required plumbing, electrical and mechanical work alone approaches the cost of a new hospital. Plans for new hospital construction were underway, but increasing uncertainty surrounding future health care reimbursement and a review of community needs prompted the hospital to pause plans for new construction and reassess its direction.
Levi Hospital will support its patients through the transition in care. Hospital employees will be offered severance packages and career transition services, according to a hospital press release.
Roberson also went over some recent events involving the hospital's partnership with the NARMC Auxiliary, a volunteer fundraising arm of the hospital, and the Interventional Pain Management clinic now located at the NARMC's former outpatient office at Bellefonte.
Roberson also talked about the recent graduation ceremony in the hospital's M*A*S*H (Medical Application of Science for Health) Program, a two-week intensive summer program for high school students who will be entering their junior or senior year in the fall.
The hospital also conducted Baby Fest 2025 last June 7 at Signature Bank Tower. It featured pregnancy and childbirth information, vendor booths and giveaways.
Hospital leadership recently met with Ozarks Unlimited Resources, the regional educational cooperative, to identify workforce opportunities in the local medical community and what courses students should take to either get an entry-level job after high school or to prepare for college and earn a degree.
Roberson also assured the board the hospital is following the Arkansas Hospital Association's lead in protecting against cyber security attacks that have breeched hospital data systems in the past.
NARMC is training with vendors in network to mitigate any possible weaknesses in the system's defenses.
The board heard a report from the Audit Committee and approved the recently submitted audit that was clean of any deficiencies.
It heard from the Finance Committee and authorized an application be made for a $1 million grant and allowed the appropriations for equipment purchases. The board also approved reappointment recommendations from the Professional Relation's Committee.
Dr. Ross Halsted and Dr. Brent Rosson were absent and did not give the Chief of Staff Report and the Physician Board Report, respectively.