Hundreds of hospitals threatened by Medicaid cuts: Research

The Hill – Tuesday, March 31, 2026
By Sarah Davis

More than 400 hospitals across the country are in danger of closing or reducing services because of cuts to Medicaid funding under the GOP’s massive reconciliation package last year, according to new research.

A report from Public Citizen found that 446 hospitals — 267 in urban areas and 176 in rural areas — are at “heightened risk” of having to pare down their services or completely shutter.

These hospitals served around 6.6 million patients in 2024 and employed 275,000 direct patient workers, according to this new research.

“The cuts will be devastating to many low-income and disabled individuals who rely on Medicaid,” Public Citizen researcher Eileen O’Grady wrote in the report.

“Moreover, they will have knock-on effects on hospitals that disproportionately serve these communities, deepening the financial strain already plaguing rural and safety-net hospitals and compromising their ability to deliver care, potentially leading many to close,” she continued.

The progressive nonprofit consumer advocacy organization analyzed hospital finance data from 2022 to 2024 to identify institutions most likely to be hit the hardest financially by this legislation.

President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law on July 4, 2025. The controversial megabill, which faced unilateral opposition from Democrats, imposed new work requirements to qualify for Medicaid and allowed for the expiration of premium tax credits.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated after the bill’s passage last June that its provisions would increase the number of uninsured people by 16 million in 2034.

In response to some concerns from more moderate Republicans during the bill’s negotiation process, the Senate’s GOP leaders doubled the size of the rural hospital relief fund from $25 billion to $50 billion. Democrats criticized this move, arguing it disproportionately favored red states.

Most of the at-risk hospitals identified in Public Citizen’s report are concentrated in blue states. California, the most populous U.S. state, had the greatest number of at-risk hospitals at 83. New York also ranked high with 45 hospitals, as did Illinois with 28 and Washington with 22.

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