Big Beautiful Bill is Creating An Ambulance Emergency in Illinois 15

According to an article in the River Bender,  Funding Issues Threaten Jersey County Ambulance Service, Jersey County ambulance service is threatened. The county may have to raise taxes or suspend services because of the Big Beautiful Bill supported by incumbent Congressman Mary Miller. The CEO of the Jersey Community Hospital said that federal funding changes made under the Big Beautiful Bill are driving the funding issues now threatening to end the county’s  ambulance service. 

“As a nurse, this worries me,” said Jennifer Todd, Democratic Candidate for Congress in Illinois 15. “When you call 911, you shouldn’t have to wonder whether an ambulance will be there. Rural healthcare isn’t an abstract issue. It’s the hospital down the road. It’s the ambulance that comes when your parent falls. It’s knowing that when your family has an emergency, help is close by.”

Todd said, “This is what Mary Miller’s votes for cuts to healthcare can look like right here in Illinois. Jersey Community Hospital is warning that its ambulance service is in financial trouble, and the hospital’s CEO says changes to healthcare financing under the One Big Beautiful Bill are a major reason why.” 

Todd continued, “The ambulance service lost about $650,000 in fiscal year 2026. The hospital says it can collect about $500 per ambulance run, which doesn’t come close to covering the cost.”

Now Jersey County may have to find another way to fund an ambulance service that the hospital says is needed to provide 24-hour coverage across the county.

The One Big Beautiful Bill which Mary Miller championed was sold as a way to save money. But communities like Jersey County are now being forced to figure out how to make up for cuts and changes to healthcare funding.

Todd said, “That’s not good enough. We need to protect rural hospitals and the emergency services our communities depend on.”