On the heels of sweeping federal funding cuts, the American public health and media landscapes are facing seismic shifts—changes that could reverberate for years in communities large and small. In August 2025, Congress’s decision to eliminate roughly $500 million in federal support for public television and radio, coupled with nearly $1 trillion in health care reductions from the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act, has left institutions like PBS, NPR, and Medicaid-dependent hospitals scrambling to adapt. The consequences, experts warn, may be far-reaching, touching everything from children’s programming to rural hospital survival and the basic health coverage of millions.
According to The San Juan Daily Star, PBS’s board approved a drastic 21% budget cut on August 13, 2025, a direct response to the congressional move that also doomed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In an email to PBS station managers, CEO Paula Kerger acknowledged the gravity of the situation: “We recognize that even with the dues reduction, adjusted payment schedule and efforts to raise funds for initial financial stabilization, we all face hard choices about the future.” The board simultaneously voted to reduce dues paid by local stations by $35 million, a move designed to ease pressure on member stations already facing their own budget shortfalls.
For PBS, which has historically relied more on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting than NPR, the blow is particularly harsh. Not only is the network losing its main source of federal support, but a further $23 million from the Department of Education, earmarked for children’s programming, has also vanished. The last of these federal dollars is set to dry up by October 2025, leaving station managers nationwide racing to slash budgets and keep their operations afloat. NPR, while less dependent on federal funds, is still eliminating about $8 million from its overall budget as a result. CEO Katherine Maher described these cuts as a “first step” in charting a path forward without federal backing.
What does this mean in practical terms? The most beloved public TV shows—think “Sesame Street,” “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” and “PBS NewsHour”—are distributed by PBS but produced by third-party organizations. While these shows may continue, the funding gaps left by the loss of Corporation for Public Broadcasting support could jeopardize their long-term viability. Staff reductions at PBS, which hasn’t seen significant layoffs since 2020, now seem almost inevitable. Public media analyst Alex Curley told The San Juan Daily Star, “It’s hard to imagine they’ll be able to avoid them with a budget reduction this large.”
The ripple effects extend far beyond the national organizations. Many smaller public TV and radio stations, especially those serving rural areas, are at risk of going dark altogether. These stations have traditionally depended on federal funding for a large proportion of their annual budgets, and without it, survival is uncertain.
The health care sector is facing its own existential crisis. On August 14, 2025, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer stood outside Wynn Hospital in Utica, New York, flanked by health care workers and local leaders, to announce a legislative push to reverse the Medicaid cuts contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act, which he plans to introduce in September, aims to roll back the nearly $1 trillion in health care reductions and extend premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace plans set to expire at the end of the year.
Schumer didn’t mince words about the stakes. “This is probably the most devastating and least popular of all the cuts (Republicans) are making,” he said, as reported by the Utica Observer-Dispatch. He painted a bleak picture: millions losing health coverage, layoffs in the health care sector, service reductions, rural hospitals and nursing homes closing, and families left without care for aging loved ones. “Why do they want to cut money?” Schumer asked. “To give tax breaks to the billionaires who are their pals.” He added, “But they don’t need a tax break that will end up firing nurses and health care workers.”
The cuts are sweeping. Starting January 2027, adults who gained Medicaid coverage through the ACA expansion will be required to work, volunteer, or participate in work-like activities for at least 80 hours a month—a requirement critics say many cannot meet or properly document. By 2029, higher out-of-pocket costs for these adults will kick in. States will also be barred from increasing taxes on health care providers to fund Medicaid costs, likely forcing them to cut payments to providers, who may then drop out of Medicaid altogether.
The Congressional Budget Office projects that 11 million people will lose Medicaid coverage by 2034 due to these measures, with another 5 million expected to lose health coverage as premium tax credits for ACA plans expire. In Oneida County, for example, Medicaid currently covers 34.5% of residents, with even higher rates among children. Hospitals like Rome Health and the Mohawk Valley Health System, which received $20 million and $118 million in Medicaid payments respectively in 2024, face severe financial risks. “Cuts of this magnitude threaten the financial stability that we have worked so hard to secure to ensure access to care for every patient, regardless of their ability to pay,” said AnneMarie Czyz, President/CEO of Rome Health.
Rural hospitals are especially vulnerable. The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform reports that just over one in three rural hospitals nationwide are already at risk of closure. In New York, 58% of rural hospitals—including Rome Health, Oneida Health, and Bassett Medical Center—are considered troubled. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act does include a $50 billion Rural Hospital Stabilization Fund, but it’s unclear whether all rural hospitals will qualify for this support, and concerns linger about how the funds will be distributed.
Anticipation of the Medicaid cuts has already led to real-world consequences. On June 18, 2025, Garnet Health Medical Center in Wallkill announced 42 layoffs and service reductions, citing the challenging health care climate and shrinking federal reimbursements. Other providers, such as Helio Health and Masonic Care Community, rely heavily on Medicaid payments and warn that further reductions could force operational changes and threaten specialized programs for vulnerable populations, from children in school-based health centers to seniors in long-term care.
Schumer’s bill faces an uphill battle in Congress, which passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act with only five Republicans opposing it. Yet, Schumer remains optimistic, urging constituents to voice their concerns to their representatives and vowing, “Together we are going to persist, persist, persist. We are not giving up. We will succeed.”
As the last of the federal funds dry up and the effects of the health care cuts begin to bite, the future of public media and health care access in America hangs in the balance. The coming months will test the resilience of institutions, communities, and the very idea of what public support for essential services should look like in the United States.
