ADRIAN — Carrying mock gravestones with epitaphs like “R.I.P. Rural Health Care,” “Here Lies Medical Research” and “Died for a Billionaire’s Tax Cut,” about 75 area residents gathered at the Lenawee County Courthouse on Aug. 23 to protest cuts to Medicaid and other federal health care spending.

The “die-in” was organized by the local group Lenawee Indivisible. It followed the passage of Medicaid cuts that the Congressional Budget Office estimated would increase the number of uninsured people in the U.S. by 10 million. The cuts have also alarmed southeast Michigan hospitals and clinics, with officials at Hillsdale Hospital calling them “a serious threat to rural healthcare.”

“Medicaid keeps our hospitals open, our communities covered, our parents cared for, and our neighbors alive,” Scott Hendrickson of Tipton, one of the organizers, said as he addressed the crowd.

Organizers also circulated a petition asking Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Tipton) to hold a public town hall meeting. Judith Hammerle of Adrian, a member of Lenawee Indivisible, said it was the ninth such attempt. Earlier this year, Politico reported that National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Richard Hudson had urged members to stop holding in-person town halls.