Hundreds of hospitals have negative operating margins and will not survive Republicans’ proposed Medicaid cuts:
- Rural hospitals are at particular risk: “61% of rural hospitals have a negative operating margin,” and “50 percent operate in the red.” Chartis. In the last 20 years, nearly 200 rural hospitals have closed and more than 700 are at risk of closing. More than 300 rural hospitals at risk of closing immediately.
- States with the greatest proportion of hospitals losing money: Kansas (89% in the red), New York and Wyoming (83% each), Vermont (75%), and Alabama (74%), Chartis.
- Hospitals in Medicaid expansion states will see an average 19 percent reduction in operating margins. Commonwealth Fund
- Safety-net hospitals are likely to be hurt most, with many forced to close, because they treat a disproportionate number of people with Medicaid. Their operating margins would fall by 56 percent on average.
Hospital closures destroy communities, have devastating effects on neighboring hospitals and reduce states’ GDP by billions of dollars:
- Everyone in their communities would feel the effects of hospital closures. If the hospitals don’t close entirely, hospital units are likely to close, particularly maternity units, behavioral health and primary care. Hospital closures would:
- Reduce access to care.
- Lead to thousands of preventable deaths a year.
- Lead to more unemployment and loss of income. As many as 477,000 hospital, nursing home and physician assistant jobs could be eliminated. And, a total of one million jobs lost.
- Cause health care costs to rise.
- Many neighboring hospitals would be devastated.
- They see an increase in emergency care.
- They provide more uncompensated care to people who have lost their Medicaid coverage. Commonwealth Fund estimates hospitals’ uncompensated care expenses would increase by $14.3 billion (63.6%).
- Nursing home industry would be decimated.
- States would lose tens of billions of dollars.
- $113 billion decline in states’ gross domestic products in 2026.
- $8.8 billion in tax revenue in 2026.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Proposed Medicaid cuts would mean benefit cuts for 1.4 million people with Medicare
- Federal cuts to Medicaid will have devastating consequences for older adults and people with disabilities
- Medicare Advantage endangers rural hospitals
- Rural hospital closures mean poor health outcomes for rural Americans
- Medicare Advantage doesn’t work for rural Americans
