Democratic senators named 300 rural hospitals in the United States — including five in western Pennsylvania — they say could be at risk for closing or reducing health care access with the passage of the reconciliation bill that will cut up to $1 trillion in Medicaid over the next several years.
The letter from the Democratic leadership, dated June 12, was sent to President Donald J. Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune. It cited data from the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina on the amount of Medicaid payments to hospitals and hospitals’ financial track record over the most recent three years.
The bill was signed July 4, but the letter was disclosed by the Sheps Center in recent days. The letter was signed by U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Massachusetts; U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon; U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon; and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York.
“Enacting these drastic health care cuts that will kick millions of people off their health insurance coverage, rural hospitals will not get paid for the services they are required by law to provide to patients,” the letter said. “In turn, rural hospitals will face deeper financial strain that could lead to negative health outcomes for the communities they serve.”
The five Pennsylvania hospitals cited in the research were all in western Pennsylvania: UPMC Jameson in New Castle, UPMC Northwest in Seneca, UPMC Kane in Kane, UPMC Horizon in Greenville and Penn Highlands Hospital in Connellsville.
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