Medicaid cuts could devastate hundreds of rural hospitals in GOP states, Democrats say [View all]
Source: CBS News
Updated on: June 12, 2025 / 11:47 AM EDT
Cuts to federal spending on Medicaid could affect hundreds of rural hospitals in many states that have elected Republican senators and voted for President Trump, Senate Democrats warned Thursday, citing a list they commissioned tallying 338 rural hospitals at risk. "If Republicans plan to pass drastic cuts to Medicaid and Medicare and effectively repeal the Affordable Care Act, communities should know exactly what they stand to lose," Sen. Ed Markey, the top Democrat in the Senate's health committee, said in a statement.
The warning from Senate Democrats, outlined in a letter sent to President Trump and Republican congressional leaders, comes as senators are now wrestling with the budget package that Mr. Trump dubbed the "big, beautiful bill," which narrowly passed the House last month.
Budget analysts say a slew of changes that the House bill made to Medicaid provisions — which backers argue would target "excesses and abuses" in the program — could add up to reduced federal Medicaid spending by more than $800 billion over the next decade, resulting in 7.8 million more uninsured people.
The American Hospital Association has warned Medicaid cuts being considered by Congress "could have a devastating impact on rural hospitals," which often face larger shares of patients without health insurance. "Rural hospitals serve as critical — and sometimes the sole — source of care for rural communities," the hospital lobbying group says. Democrats cited a list of at-risk rural hospitals that the University of North Carolina's Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research compiled at their request.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/medicaid-cuts-rural-hospitals-republican-states-democrats-say/
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