Virginia Republicans silent as Trump’s Medicaid cuts blamed for rural clinics closing

Augusta Medical Group announced it would close three rural clinics due to the impact of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

Three rural health clinics are closing in Virginia, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the public comments of local and state Republicans. 

Last week, Augusta Medical Group said it was closing two primary care clinics in Buena Vista and Churchville, and an urgent care center in Weyers Cave as part of its “ongoing response to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the resulting realities for healthcare delivery.” 

News of the clinics closing was first reported by WHSV3. 

Democrats around the state were quick to highlight the closings as the expected consequence of the Trump administration’s plan to cut $911 billion in Medicaid funding over 10 years. 

Jena Crisler is a Democratic candidate running for a House of Delegates district that includes a large swathe of Augusta County. Crisler works as a physician in Harrisonburg and the Weyers Cave clinic that’s closing is about five miles from her house. 

Crisler said the closing of these clinics means more people will delay getting preventative care, which will result in worse health outcomes, not to mention longer travel times for emergency care that can mean life or death. 

“If you have the closing of those three clinics, you will have increased demand on the remaining clinics, which are all at least 10 miles away, or slightly more, which is 15 to 20 minutes of country road,” Crisler said in an interview. 

Crisler’s opponent, incumbent Republican Del. Chris Runion, has made no mention of the Augusta Health closings on social media and did not respond to Dogwood’s request for comment. On August 30, he made a Facebook post thanking Augusta Health for its service to the community. 

Augusta Health has been warning for weeks about the impacts of Trump’s bill. WMRA Public Radio reported in August that Augusta Health’s administrators were planning for “serious funding cuts” and faced “hard decisions and a lot of heavy lifting.” Augusta Health could not be reached for comment for this story. 

“I’m really glad that Augusta Health is being so outward on the communications, letting people know their concerns, and being upfront with the choices they have to make,” said Randall Wolf, a former Democratic House of Delegates candidate who lives in Augusta County. 

Supporters of Augusta Health held a rally in support of the health system last month. 

“There’s a saying in the valley: If you can survive it, go to Augusta because they will give you the best care possible,” said Abby Garber, a student at the University of Virginia who grew up in Rockingham County. 

Her dad works for Augusta Health and Garber is active in Democratic politics. 

“To have that care limited because of Republicans and Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is truly devastating,” she said in an interview. 

Augusta Medical’s decision to close its clinics could be just the beginning. A report published in June found that 338 rural hospitals nationwide would be at risk of closing due to Trump’s bill, including six Virginia hospitals.

“Reductions in Medicaid funding of this magnitude would likely accelerate rural hospital closures and reduce access to care for rural residents, exacerbating economic hardship in communities where hospitals are major employers,” the National Rural Health Association said on its website in June.

Garber said she knows of people in rural Virginia who move to be closer to healthcare facilities, which can be challenging in a housing market with high prices and limited supply. Garber wishes elected representatives like Runion, state Del. Ellen Campbell, and US Rep. Ben Cline would speak up about the impacts of Trump’s bill to rural health care. 

Campbell is a Republican incumbent in a House of Delegates district that also represents Augusta County. She has been silent on the closing of the Augusta Health clinics and did not respond to a request for comment. 

Campbell’s Democratic challenger, Makayla Venable, has raised concerns about the clinics’ closing. Venable said on Facebook that Democratic nominee for governor, Abigail Spanberger, “understands what is at stake for rural Virginians” and linked to Spanberger’s post about Augusta Health. 

“Together we will help fight and protect our neighbors,” Venable said. 

Correction: Abby Garber grew up in Rockingham County. A previous version of this story had the wrong county.