From rural Nebraska to coastal California and Maine beach towns, cash-strapped medical centers, clinics, hospital wards, and long-term care facilities are already shuttering across the country, straining a health care system that’s buckling under financial pressure. Now, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have made things worse by passing the largest health care cuts in history in order to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. These cuts are only going to accelerate this crisis, stripping communities of care and gutting local economies. People across the country, including seniors, people with disabilities, expectant mothers, and cancer patients, will have to travel further to get care and experience lengthier wait times in emergency rooms. Hospitals are closing, care is vanishing, and Trump and Republicans own the consequences.
HEADLINES
TIME: The Big Budget Bill Could Make Your ER a Mess.
- “A quiet policy change tucked into the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ cuts the provider tax nationwide from 6% to 3.5% over the coming years. That might sound like easy-to-ignore bureaucratic jargon, but for families across America—who trust the ER will be there when a fever spikes or a bone breaks—this change will likely mean dramatically longer waits, overwhelmed doctors, and a system pushed to the brink.”
- “This legislation’s cut to this tax might look and sound like a simple budget trim. In reality, it’s a wrecking ball. It will slash federal funding, leaving hospitals and nursing homes scrambling. A new analysis by researchers at Brown University’s School of Public Health estimates this bill could force more than 600 nursing homes to close nationwide. That’s 600 places caring for grandparents, stroke survivors, or adults with disabilities. When those doors shut, the whole system jams up—and the fallout lands in your local ER.”
KLKN: Rural Southwest Nebraska Clinic Closes, Blaming Expected Medicaid Cuts.
- “A clinic in southwest Nebraska announced Wednesday that it is closing due to financial challenges, including anticipated Medicaid cuts. McCook-based Community Hospital said it is shutting down its clinic in Curtis, a town of about 900 people. The Curtis Medical Center has been in operation for more than 30 years.”
News 9: Oklahoma Healthcare Officials Warn Of Rural Hospital Closures Amid Pending Medicaid Cuts.
- “Last Friday, as part of a statewide video conference, several of Oklahoma’s healthcare leaders warned of the consequences the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act could bring to the state’s hospitals. […] Geister projected that about 500 jobs would be impacted within the OKC Mercy health system.”
- “Geister said Medicaid is an essential revenue source that keeps rural hospital doors open. ‘You’re gonna see fewer hospitals that deliver babies for all patients,’ Geister said. ‘That means longer drive times for pregnant women who need access to care.’”
KOCO ABC 5: Oklahoma Hospitals Faced Closure Before The ‘Big, Beautiful Bill.’ Medicaid Cuts Amplify Those Fears.
- “The “big, beautiful bill” was approved by the House of Representatives on Thursday, but cuts to Medicaid could put hospitals and medical services at risk across Oklahoma. Dozens of hospitals across Oklahoma were operating in the negative margins and faced risk of closure even before this bill, according to a report by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. But hospital administrators said the new legislation could speed up that timeline.”
- “In the report from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, there are 47 rural hospitals at risk of closing in Oklahoma. Of those, 23 face an immediate risk of closing. ‘At a maximum, I think it hastens the speed that rural hospitals predominantly would be under pressure of potentially closing,’ said Bennett Geister, president of Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City Communities.”
- “But it isn’t just about job losses. Hospitals across Oklahoma said they could be forced to cut programs, including labor and delivery services. Geister said there are currently only 43 hospitals in the state that provide these services, and 54% of those deliveries rely on Medicaid. ‘If Medicaid gets cut this drastically, you’re going to see fewer hospitals that deliver babies for all patients, and that’s just very simple math,’ Geister said.”
WGME CBS 13: Medicaid Cuts Lead To Rural Maine Hospital Closures And Service Reductions.
- “Now that President Trump’s big tax bill has passed, analysts are taking a closer look at what major Medicaid cuts will mean for rural hospitals. More than 300 hospitals across the country are now at risk of closing according to the Sheps Center at the University of North Carolina, which tracks hospital closures. Two of those hospitals are here in Maine. The center lists Maine coast memorial hospital in Ellsworth and the Aroostook Medical Center in Presque Isle. They both made the list because the center says they have operated in the negative for three consecutive years. Maine has seen four hospitals close in the last ten years, the most recent in May, when Inland Hospital in Waterville shut down. Just this week, Inland’s parent company, Northern Light Health, warned it will need to reduce its workforce and cut back on some services partially because of cuts to Medicaid.”
- “In April, Mainehealth shut down its labor and delivery unit at waldo hospital in Belfast. Two big closures happened in May, Inland Hospital in Waterville closed entirely after initially saying it would only close some services. Houlton Regional Hospital shut down its labor and delivery unit also in May.”
The Fayetteville Observer (Opinion): Rural Maternity Wings In NC Are Closing. More Pain May Be On The Way.
- “The closures are happening during what is already a challenging time for maternal health care, with federal contributions in overall healthcare funding decreasing with more cuts on the way. The U.S. Congress last week passed a tax bill signed by Donald Trump that will cut around $1 trillion from Medicaid. For rural hospitals, it is a direct threat to their continued survival and a major setback for patient care, including maternity care. More than 23% of women of childbearing age in rural areas are covered by Medicaid, compared to 20.5% of women in metro areas, according to research from Georgetown University, which also found Medicaid covered nearly half of all rural births. The cuts could also close rural hospitals altogether — a fate that has befallen more than 200 such hospitals over the last 20 years, The Washington Post reports.”
- “The upcoming Medicaid cuts will be another blow against maternity wings and more specialized places for maternal care, barring some other kind of intervention by the state of North Carolina. In this area of care, we are going backward as a state and nation.”
Ventura County Star: ‘A Huge Thing’: Los Robles Hospital Closes Doors On Pediatric Unit.
- “Ventura County, with a population of about 835,000 people, now has one hospital pediatric unit. Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks closed its 12-bed ward on July 1, leaving the Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura as the sole pediatric unit. The county hospital operates a 16-bed department with more space available if needed.”
- “The pediatric unit employed 17 people. Merino declined to specify whether layoffs had happened but said meetings were held with all affected employees about possible jobs…”
- “County Supervisor Jeff Gorell said at a budget meeting in June that he wants the county to continue to have discussions with Los Robles. He too cited the distance families would have to travel from Thousand Oaks to find inpatient pediatric care. ‘It’s 22 miles and could be, with traffic, an hour drive,’ he said. ‘It’s an enormous concern on the East County and we do have an obligation to be involved.’”
St. Louis Business Journal: Des Peres Hospital Closure To Affect Hundreds Of Jobs.
- “St. Luke’s Des Peres Hospital said that 336 employees there, including 210 full-time workers, will be transferred or permanently laid off when the hospital closes in a month, coming after the facility has lost millions of dollars over years.”
The Houston Chronicle: Memorial Hermann Closing University Place Senior Community, Nursing Center.
- “Memorial Hermann Health System is closing its University Place senior living community and nursing center and laying off more than 80 employees at the southwest Houston facility. […] University Place, located between Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital and Houston Christian University, has offered one- and two-bedroom apartments for seniors since opening in 1988. Its 60-bed nursing center specializes in short-term, post-acute care and long-term care for patients who need around-the-clock care and other medical services.”
The Miami Herald: This Miami-Area Hospital Is Closing Its Maternity Ward. What It Means For Patients.
- “Expecting parents who live in south Miami-Dade County and plan to give birth at Jackson South Medical Center will soon need to look elsewhere. The public hospital’s labor and delivery unit will be closing in the fall, leaving a large swath of the county that is already underserved with less access to nearby, essential maternal care, the Miami Herald has confirmed.”
ABC 7: West Suburban Medical Center Temporarily Closing Obstetric, Neonatal Units: IDPH.
- “The Illinois Department of Public Health says West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park is temporarily closing its obstetric and neonatal units. The department says it was informed Thursday, and was told the closure is due to a shortage of nurses. But multiple nurses told ABC7 Chicago that they were sent home by the hospital after being told they were placed on indefinite suspension. ‘Even if temporary, this closure is concerning. IDPH will be gathering more information about this action to ensure that the hospital complies with its obligations under the Hospital Licensing Act,’ IDPH said.”