Researchers Estimate 150,000+ Jobs Will Be Eliminated in 2026 Due to Republican Lawmakers Ripping Away Health Care Tax Credits Alone
Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued a dismal jobs report concluding that the U.S. economy lost over 92,000 jobs in February, including 28,000 jobs in health care, and unemployment has ticked up to 4.4 percent. Health care has been the lifeblood of the U.S. labor market but over 750 hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and other critical providers have closed, are at risk of closing, or have cut essential services since Trump and Republicans in Congress gutted $1 trillion from Medicaid to bankroll tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. Expectant mothers are forced to travel further to get to the nearest maternity ward. Cancer patients are paying for travel and overnight stays in major cities to get the treatment they need to survive. Patients are traveling hundreds of miles to get to an emergency room. On top of that, essential workers such as doctors, nurses, and physical therapists in communities across America are losing their jobs. Over 150,000 jobs are estimated to be lost this year due to Republicans eliminating tax credits for working families alone. As GOP cuts hit communities nationwide, Protect Our Care is tracking the impact. Here are some of the layoffs Protect Our Care’s Hospital Crisis Watch tracked this February:
Crain’s New York Business: Safety-Net One Brooklyn Health Lays Off More Than 50 Workers
- “‘While the financial pressures facing safety-net hospitals across New York and the country are very real and now at our doorstep, this decision was ultimately driven by a forward-looking evaluation of [One Brooklyn Health’s] internal operations and the need to make responsible, data-informed changes in support of our mission,’ the spokesperson said.”
WGGB: Baystate Announces Elimination of Over 100 Positions
- “While Duggan said Baystate has made efforts to create ‘greater financial stability and resilience for our health system’ and the health system meeting budget expectations last year for the first time in six years, they are facing ‘increasing headwinds’ with a ‘large and growing demand for care by individuals with government payors (Medicare and Medicaid).’”
- “In addition, she noted that supplies, drugs, technology, and other essential services all continue to see price increases and new financial pressures are coming with the ‘expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, cuts to Medicaid funding, eligibility, enrollment, and provider rates, shortfalls with the state’s Healthcare Safety Net (HSN) fund, and other reimbursement barriers.’”
Becker’s Hospital Review: Peacehealth to Lay Off 94, Including Nurses
- “PeaceHealth said it ‘is in a period of transformation’ and has made ‘the difficult decision to reduce roles systemwide.’ ‘This necessary realignment reflects the changing needs of our growing communities, ongoing financial pressures to reduce costs and our commitment to advancing the health and well-being of those we serve,’ the health system said in a statement.”
CT Insider: Bloomfield-Based Health Care Giant Cigna Plans to Lay Off 2,000 Employees Worldwide
- “The Cigna Group, one of the world’s largest health insurers and pharmacy-benefit managers, has confirmed that it plans to lay off approximately 2,000 employees.”
KCRG: MercyOne Announces More Layoffs in Mason City
- “This is the third round of MercyOne layoffs in Iowa in the past few weeks. In mid-January, the company announced that 40 people will be laid off when their Ottumwa clinic closes on February 27. Then just last week, a listing on Iowa WARN showed that Mercy One Medical Center in Des Moines will lay off 67 workers.”
Houston Chronicle: Memorial Hermann Offers Voluntary Buyouts Amid Financial Pressures Tied to ACA and Medicaid Changes
- “Memorial Hermann Health System is offering buyouts to employees amid growing financial and operating pressures, which it attributed to the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies, changes to Medicaid funding and other factors, the health system said Friday.”
Buffalo-Toronto Public Media: Medicaid Cuts Fuel Layoffs
- “In Buffalo, Erie County Medical Center plans to layoff roughly 150 workers. The hospital says they need to do this in part because of cuts to Medicaid. A national expert we talked to says this is the tough reality safety-net hospitals, like ECMC who serve many people with little or no insurance, are facing. However, cutting what could include clerical staff can create other challenges for hospitals already struggling to get paid by the government through Medicaid.”
Becker’s Hospital Review: Hennepin to Cut 100 Jobs Amid Service Line Restructuring
- “Minneapolis-based Hennepin Healthcare is making service line changes that will result in the elimination of about 100 positions, citing a broader effort to stabilize its finances and protect core clinical services.”
- “The changes come as the health system works to identify at least $50 million in savings during the first quarter of 2026.”
Daily Journal: Johnson Memorial Health to Close Maternity Unit, Cut About 48 Jobs
- “Johnson Memorial Health announced Friday that it is phasing out its obstetrics services and closing its Maternity Care Center due to budgetary constraints. More and more hospitals of JMH’s size are having to scale back on services due to an increasingly difficult financial landscape — the Franklin hospital becomes the 16th Indiana facility to close its maternity wards since 2020.”
- “The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025 only exacerbates the issue, as Indiana will see more Medicaid cuts moving forward — a projected $12.7 billion throughout the state.”
- “The state of Indiana has attempted to leverage federal dollars to increase Medicaid reimbursement for several Indiana hospitals, but that plan was not approved by (the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services),” Dunkle said. “That was probably the last straw for us.”
Buffalo Business First: Buffalo General Cuts Rehab Unit in Half, Eliminating 22 Jobs
- “The shift comes as Kaleida continues to implement a $200 million strategic plan designed to strengthen long-term sustainability.”