In rural Nevada, giving birth can already mean a long drive. If maternity units close, that drive could become even longer.
A recent KFF analysis found Nevada has some of the longest travel times in the nation between rural hospitals that provide maternity care and the next in-state hospital with those services. In some cases, the next option may be more than two hours away.
That distance matters during labor. It can mean delayed emergency care and greater risk for both parents and babies.
Medicaid helps sustain rural maternity care, financing nearly half of births in rural communities nationwide. When coverage is reduced or hospitals lose Medicaid revenue, small rural hospitals may find it even harder to keep labor-and-delivery services open.
Nevada already has maternal-health deserts. Every family—whether they live in Reno, Las Vegas, Elko, Ely, Fallon, or a rural community in between—deserves timely, safe, affordable care before, during, and after pregnancy.
Maternal health is rural health.
Maternal health is health justice.
And it must be a Nevada priority.
