7/16/2026

IRONWOOD - The Red Alert: Save Our Hospitals Tour heads to Michigan's Upper Peninsula this month. Nurses with National Nurses United say the campaign, which is visiting 30 cities across the country, will stop in Ironwood on July 18 to raise awareness about federal Medicaid changes, including new work requirements for some adults and more frequent eligibility reviews. Kalamazoo registered nurse Cindy Evans, who works in Beacon Hospital's behavioral health annex, says she's especially concerned about what these changes could mean for patients in a mental health crisis.

                    0:12  "You know, our patients, the psychiatric patients, would have to be put into the main ER, which then causes a backup where we could put patients that are having potentially a stroke or a heart attack."

More than two and a half million Michiganders rely on Medicaid for their health coverage. Federal officials say the changes are intended to strengthen Medicaid, encourage work and community engagement among eligible adults, and preserve the program for the people who need it most.