U.S. Senators responsible for reviewing the impact of the “Big, Beautiful Bill” say Medicaid cuts in the House proposal and further cuts proposed this week by Senate Republican leaders could force over 300 rural hospitals, including 15 in New Mexico, to close.
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the leading Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, and other committee members wrote to Republican leaders that “by 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. In turn, rural hospitals will face deeper financial strain that could lead to negative health outcomes for the communities they serve.”
They cited an analysis by Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina (Sheps Center) which ranked each hospital by the percentage of Medicaid patients it serves.
15 New Mexico hospitals ranked in the top 10% of all hospitals in the country for percentage of patients on Medicaid, the federal healthcare program for low-income and disabled adults and children.
“Already, rural hospitals are struggling: in 2023, there were 50 fewer rural hospitals than in 2017, and 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, may have to 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 letter explained.
Contacted by nm.news for comment, New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich’s office pointed us to this statement he shared on June 6 after the bill passed the House of Representatives : “Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” is nothing but a big, beautiful betrayal of the American people. Whether it’s closing rural hospitals or leaving 16 million people uninsured: it’s a big, beautiful NO from me.”
The New Mexico hospitals identified at risk by members of the Budget Committee are:
- Alta Vista Regional Hospital (Las Vegas) – high Medicaid share
- Eastern New Mexico Medical Center (Roswell) – high Medicaid share
- Española Hospital – high Medicaid share
- Plains Regional Medical Center (Clovis) – high Medicaid share
- Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital (Gallup) – high Medicaid share
- Carlsbad Medical Center – high Medicaid share
- Covenant Health Hobbs Hospital (Hobbs) – high Medicaid share
- Roosevelt General Hospital (Portales) – high Medicaid share
- Lovelace Regional Hospital– (Roswell) – high Medicaid share
- Socorro General Hospital – high Medicaid share
- Dr. Dan C. Trigg Memorial Hospital (Tucumcari) – high Medicaid share
- Lincoln County Medical Center (Ruidoso) – high Medicaid share
- Miners’ Colfax Medical Center (Raton) – high Medicaid share
- Mimbres Memorial Hospital (Deming) – high Medicaid share
- Holy Cross Hospital (Taos) – high Medicaid share
Each relies heavily on Medicaid reimbursements; a cut would erode revenue and risk shutting down essential health services.