Wyden, Merkley, Markey, Schumer Release Data Detailing Hundreds of Rural Hospitals Across U.S. at Risk Due to Republican Health Care Cuts
Data shows Oregon hospitals in Silverton, Seaside, Madras, and Hermiston among more than 300 rural hospitals nationwide at disproportionate risk of closure, conversion, or service reductions
Washington (June 12, 2025) – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley (both D-Ore.) today joined with U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y) to release new data concluding that health care cuts in the Republican budget bill could place more than 300 rural hospitals across the U.S. at disproportionate risk of closure, conversion, or service reductions.
The data from the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill follows House Republicans’ passage of a budget bill that would impose the largest cuts to health care in U.S. history, slashing funding for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act by more than $1 trillion and triggering more than $500 billion in Medicare cuts. The analysis released today is based on financial indicators including: share of Medicaid patients served, previous years of negative total margins, and data modeling on future financial distress.
“Hospitals are often the backbone of rural communities in Oregon and across the nation. They are often the largest employer in a rural community, and more often than not, many of the families they serve count on Medicaid for health care,” said Wyden, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee. “The Republican bill would hit rural Oregon like a wrecking ball, and among the first to suffer would be the rural hospitals and those they serve and employ who are already walking on an economic tightrope.”
“As I hold town hall meetings in each of Oregon’s 36 counties, I frequently hear about struggles folks have in accessing health care in their communities. This isn’t a red state or blue state issue. Medicaid helps every state – especially rural communities,” said Merkley, Ranking Member of the Budget Committee. “More than 300 rural hospitals will be at risk of shutting down – in Oregon and across the country – if Republicans betray middle class families and make these drastic cuts to Medicaid, all so that billionaires can pay less in taxes. This is the Republican plan: families lose, and billionaires win.”
The lawmakers also sent the data in a letter to President Trump, Leader John Thune, and Speaker Mike Johnson, writing, “Addressing the crisis in rural health care access is a national, bipartisan priority, and it should be bipartisan to not worsen that crisis. However, if your party passes these health care cuts into law, Americans in rural communities across the country risk losing health care services and jobs supported by their local hospitals. We urge you to read the attached report and reconsider your position. It is not too late to stop these cuts. Billionaire tax breaks are not worth the cost to American lives and livelihoods.”
The response from the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research states, “Substantial cuts to Medicaid or Medicare payments could increase the number of unprofitable rural hospitals and elevate their risk of financial distress. In response, hospitals may be forced to reduce service lines, convert to a different type of health care facility, or close altogether.”
The data shows 338 rural hospitals at particular risk of closure, conversion, or service reduction from substantial health care cuts because the hospitals either take a high relative share of Medicaid patients, or have experienced three consecutive years of negative total margins, or both. This includes four hospitals in Oregon: Silverton Hospital, Providence Seaside Hospital, St. Charles Madras, and Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston.
In the face of these Republican cuts, a majority of adults living in rural areas are concerned that health care cuts will “negatively impact hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care providers in [their] community,” the senators wrote in their letter to Trump, noting that rural hospitals are struggling. In 2023, there were 50 fewer rural hospitals than in 2017, and a lack of health care access in rural America is contributing to worse health outcomes. Faced with additional cuts to their revenue, many rural hospitals may be forced to stop providing certain services, including obstetric, mental health, and emergency room care, convert to clinics or standalone emergency centers, or close altogether. Rural hospitals are often the largest employers in rural communities, and when a rural hospital closes or scales back its services, communities are not only forced to grapple with losing access to health care, but also with job loss and the resulting financial insecurity.
The lawmakers sent a letter to the Sheps Center director on June 4, 2025, requesting the Center’s expert analysis of how this bill will impact rural hospitals and the communities they serve, particularly inquiring about which rural hospitals in the country treat the highest share of Medicaid recipients; how many rural hospitals are currently in financial distress or at risk of closure; and if the health care cuts in the House-passed budget reconciliation bill were to become law, would the rural hospitals with the highest share of Medicaid recipients or that are currently in financial distress face risk of closure or have to reduce services.
The senators’ letter and data are here. The Sheps Center response is here.
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