COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Billions of federal dollars for rural healthcare are headed to Ohio, and state lawmakers are already drawing lines over who should get them.

— not major systems in Cleveland, Columbus, or Cincinnati.

“It’s an oxymoron to say the rural hospital money should go to urban hospitals,” the Lima Republican said. “If you’re an independent-standing hospital like [Marietta Memorial Hospital,] you don’t have a system to help you out.”

The money comes from a $50 billion rural health fund created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July.

The Ohio Hospital Association says nearly three-quarters of the state’s rural hospitals operate in the red, and the fund was created to help offset Medicaid cuts in the federal budget bill.

Ohio’s share is estimated at $1.3 billion, based on a

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