When Rep. Jeff Hurd voted in favor of the final version of H.R. 1 – the bill that was ultimately signed into law – he didn’t just fall in line with Washington politics. He turned his back on the people of Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. From the eastern plains to the San Luis Valley to the Western Slope, families will feel the impact of this law for years to come.
H.R. 1, now federal law, slashes over $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over the next decade, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. These cuts don’t just show up in budget spreadsheets – they show up in emergency rooms, on kitchen tables, and in shuttered hospital wings across rural Colorado.
In Otero County, on Colorado’s southeastern plains, nearly one-third of residents rely on Medicaid for health care, according to 2023 data from the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing. Conejos and Rio Grande counties in the San Luis Valley, and Montezuma and Montrose counties on the Western Slope, report similar levels of dependence. When Hurd supported this law, he voted to strip critical health care from thousands of his own constituents.
The new law imposes strict work requirements on Medicaid and SNAP recipients – not to increase employment, but to cut people off. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that millions of Americans will lose coverage, not because they’re ineligible, but because of red tape and paperwork barriers. For working families, seniors, and people with disabilities in rural communities, this is more than an inconvenience – it’s a crisis.
Hospitals across Colorado’s 3rd District are already teetering. Arkansas Valley Regional Medical Center in La Junta, Delta Health on the Western Slope, and Southwest Memorial in Cortez are just a few of the rural hospitals under pressure. The Colorado Hospital Association reports that over 40% of rural hospitals nationwide are at risk of closure if Medicaid funding declines significantly. Under the new law, that risk just skyrocketed.
Lawmakers backing the bill touted the Rural Health Transformation Program, a $50 billion nationwide fund meant to soften the blow. But that’s window dressing. According to Families USA, Colorado stands to lose $835 million in rural Medicaid funding under this law – more than 16 times what the state might receive in return.
Jeff Hurd acknowledged the bill’s flaws, saying he had “concerns” about unintended consequences. But when it came time to stand up for the people of the 3rd District, he voted yes. No pushback. No amendments. No effort to protect the very communities he represents.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. Rural hospitals are often the largest employers in their counties. According to the National Rural Health Association, every rural hospital closure means the loss of 150 jobs and more than $1.3 million in wages annually. That’s not just health care – it’s economic devastation from Pueblo to Pagosa Springs.
By backing this bill-turned-law, Jeff Hurd didn’t just vote against Medicaid and SNAP recipients. He voted against nurses in Alamosa, EMTs in Montrose, cafeteria workers in Trinidad, and the small businesses that rely on thriving local economies tied to rural health systems.
Colorado’s 3rd District isn’t Washington, D.C. It’s a sprawling, diverse region of ranching towns, mountain communities, and family farms. It’s where health care isn’t optional – it’s essential. It’s where missing one paycheck means missing meals. And it’s where voters know the difference between words and actions.
Jeff Hurd made his choice. He chose party politics over the people who elected him. He chose budget cuts over rural care. And he chose silence over standing up for the lives and livelihoods of Colorado’s 3rd District.
And we won’t forget.
Concetta C. DiRusso, PhD, is the George Holmes University Professor of Biochemistry Emeritus – University of Nebraska, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the Professional Associates at Fort Lewis College.
Paul N. Black, PhD, is the Charles Bessy Professor of Biological Chemistry Emeritus – University of Nebraska, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the Professional Associates at Fort Lewis College.
Black is a Durango native; both reside in Durango.
