To the editor:

I was in Belhaven, North Carolina some time ago. One of our party needed urgent care, so we visited the small rural hospital there. Some time after our visit the Republican government of North Carolina refused to accept expanded Medicare/Medicaid. Without adequate support, this rural hospital has been closed now for a few years. There exists a list of local people who have died as a result of unavailable local care.

This what the future looks like for all rural Americans as result of the recently passed budget; not just to my home area residents of Elise Stefanik’s NY-21.

Steven Bederian

Wilton