<\/p>\n Fall foliage colors the scene near the Community Church, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Sugar Hill, N.H., a rural area where the closure of a community health center is leaving residents without nearby medical care. (AP Photo\/Robert F. Bukaty)<\/p>\n Fall foliage colors the scene near the Community Church, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Sugar Hill, N.H., a rural area where the closure of a community health center is leaving residents without nearby medical care. (AP Photo\/Robert F. Bukaty)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Closure raises concerns<\/p>\n Officials blamed cuts in Medicaid<\/a>, the federal program that millions of low-income Americans rely on for health care. The 1,400 patients, almost half of them older and some facing serious health challenges like cancer and early-stage dementia, must now drive at least 10 miles (16 kilometers) along rural roads to reach the nearest health center, which also is near a regional hospital. A second center is twice as far. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dr. Melissa Buddensee, left, meets with patient Susan Bushby at Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Franconia, N.H., in the final days before the clinic closes for good. (AP Photo\/Robert F. Bukaty)<\/p>\n Dr. Melissa Buddensee, left, meets with patient Susan Bushby at Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Franconia, N.H., in the final days before the clinic closes for good. (AP Photo\/Robert F. Bukaty)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \u201cI was very disturbed. I was downright angry,\u201d said Bushby, who was brought to tears as she discussed the challenges of starting over at a new health center. \u201cI just really like it there. I don\u2019t know, I\u2019m just really going to miss it. It\u2019s really hard for me to explain, but it\u2019s going to be sad.\u201d<\/p>\n The closure of the Franconia center reflects the financial struggles facing community health centers<\/a> and rural health care systems more broadly amid Medicaid cuts and a feared spike in health insurance rates. The government shutdown<\/a>, which ended last week, was driven by a Democratic demand to extend tax credits, which ensure low- and middle-income people can afford health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, or ACA.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel.<\/p>\n Patients rattled by closure<\/p>\n Marsha Luce, whose family moved from the Washington, D.C., area in 2000, is especially concerned about the impact on her 72-year-old husband, a former volunteer firefighter who has had his left ear and part of his jaw removed due to cancer. He also has heart and memory issues.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Marsha, left, and Kirk Luce, both patients at Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, eat dinner, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, at their home in Franconia, N.H. (AP Photo\/Robert F. Bukaty)<\/p>\n Marsha, left, and Kirk Luce, both patients at Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, eat dinner, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, at their home in Franconia, N.H. (AP Photo\/Robert F. Bukaty)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n She worries about longer waits to see his doctor and the loss of relationships built up over decades in Franconia.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be hard,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it\u2019s a relationship that\u2019s going to be missed. It\u2019s a relationship that you can talk to people and you tell them something and you go, yeah, well, I\u2019ve had cancer. Oh, let\u2019s see. Oh, yeah. There it is in your chart. Do you know what I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n Demise of rural health care<\/p>\n More than 100 hospitals closed over the past decade, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, a policy and advocacy group, and more than 700 more hospitals are at risk of closure. A branch of the HealthFirst Family Care Center, a facility in Canaan, New Hampshire, also announced it was closing at the end of October due in part to \u201cchanges in Medicaid reimbursement and federal funding\u201d for these facilities.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of these Medicaid cuts, we\u2019re going to see rural hospitals, in particular, hit hard,\u201d New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat, told The Associated Press. \u201cAnd obviously, the failure to extend the ACA tax credits right now is going to compound the problem. \u2026 These providers are going to see more and more uninsured patients. And that means they\u2019re going to have to make really difficult decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n The sustainability of the centers is critical because they serve as the nation\u2019s primary care safety net, treating patients regardless of insurance coverage or ability to pay.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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