Donald Trump and maga Republicans big ugly tax cuts for the rich are causing at least a dozen hospital closures

Echo report by Alan Condon, published in Becker's Hospital Review:

(Maine Writer opinion:  Although some of the hospitals in this report were operating on the edge of bankruptcy for a long time, the budget projections caused by cuts to Medicaid accelerated the inevitable.  The big problem is, some of these hospitals could have endured for a while, but the fiscal projections, given the reality of the reimbursement cuts, hastened their closure decisions.)

A growing number of health systems across the U.S. are making the difficult decision to close hospitals, driven by unsustainable financial pressures, declining patient volumes and widespread reimbursement challenges.

Below are 12 health systems that have closed or announced plans to close hospitals this year, with some pivoting to outpatient care, others consolidating services and many citing the economic realities that make traditional acute care models increasingly unviable:

1. St. Luke’s Des Peres Hospital in St. Louis closed Aug. 1. The hospital cited low patient volumes and mounting financial challenges that make it unsustainable to continue operating St. Luke’s as an acute care facility. St. Luke’s Medical Group practices in the Des Peres medical office buildings will remain open.

2. Rockford, Ill.-based Javon Bea Hospital-Rockton closed after Mercyhealth filed a “temporary suspension of services” with the state, a spokesperson for the health system confirmed to Becker’s. The hospital building closed at 6 a.m. on July 1, according to NBC affiliate WREX.com. The physician clinic adjacent to the hospital campus will remain open.

3. Heritage Valley Health System closed Heritage Valley Kennedy Hospital in Kennedy Township, Pa., on June 30, citing declining patient volumes and reduced reimbursement rates. The health system acquired the hospital in 2019. Following the closure, emergency care, outpatient surgery, and diagnostic services were redirected to the health system’s two other hospital locations in Sewickley and Beaver, Pa.

4. Waterville, Maine-based Northern Light Inland Hospital closed on May 27, marking the end of operations for the facility that has been gradually winding down since the closure was announced earlier this year. Northern Light Health’s decision to close the hospital was made due to “immense pressure of higher operational costs, unsustainably low reimbursement rates and a tight labor market,” the health system said in a news release shared with Becker’s.

5. Moulton, Ala.-based Lawrence Medical Center, an affiliate of Huntsville Hospital Health System, permanently closed its emergency department on May 23. The 98-bed hospital stopped providing inpatient services earlier this year and had been operating as a freestanding emergency department. The closure is part of a strategic shift to convert the hospital into an outpatient-only facility. The move comes ahead of a 40-year lease agreement that will give Huntsville Hospital Health full operational and financial control of Lawrence Medical Center. The longtime affiliates have operated financially independently until now.

6. Upland, Pa.-based Crozer Health wound down operations and closed its two remaining hospitals and other care facilities. The health system, which was owned and operated by Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Systems, closed Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland on May 2. Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park, Pa., closed April 26. Nearly 2,700 employees were laid off as a result of the closures.

7. Mid Coast Medical Center Trinity (Texas) closed April 25. El Campo, Texas-based Mid Coast Health System, which operated the hospital, pointed to “significant financial challenges experienced by hundreds of rural hospitals” that have been made worse by “delays in establishing Medicare and Medicaid billing with commercial health insurance” for the closure,

8. Flint, Mich.-based Insight Health System closed Insight Hospital and Medical Center Trumbull and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital — both in Warren, Ohio — in late March. The health system cited ongoing bankruptcy and financial disruptions from former owner Dallas-based Steward Health Care. Insight has stated its intention to reopen the hospitals, though no specific timeline has been announced.

9. Ascension St. Elizabeth in Chicago closed Feb. 17 before Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare’s acquisition of the facility and eight other Ascension hospitals in Illinois. St. Louis-based Ascension’s application to close the 40-bed hospital and transfer services to St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital in Chicago was approved in January by the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board. Prime is working with the community and other stakeholders to explore future uses for the hospital, a spokesperson for the health system told Becker’s.

10. New York City-based Mount Sinai’s Beth Israel closed on April 9. Beth Israel had already closed inpatient services and closed its emergency department as the last step in the hospital’s comprehensive closure plan, which began in February. Mount Sinai said it was spending between about $500,000 a day to maintain operations at the hospital and has lost over $1 billion over the last 10 years. Mount Sinai opened an expanded urgent care center two blocks away from Beth Israel following the closure.

11. Irving, Texas-based Christus Health shuttered Christus Santa Rosa Hospital-Medical Center in San Antonio on April 25. Christus Santa Rosa Hospital-Westover Hills opened a tower in the spring and replaced all inpatient beds occupied at Christus Santa Rosa Hospital.

12. Orlando (Fla.) Health shuttered Rockledge Hospital on April 22. Orlando Health acquired the 298-bed facility from Dallas-based Steward Health Care in October 2024 for $439 million. In late February, the health system shared plans to close the hospital due to “years of neglect” ❓❗😞😠that left the facility unable to meet its patient care standards.