3 UPMC hospitals at risk of closure from Medicaid cuts

UPMC McKeesport was among the facilities mentioned in a report compiled by Public Citizen.

By JACK TROY
TribLive

Three UPMC hospitals in Southwestern Pennsylvania are at risk for closure as President Donald Trump’s cuts to Medicaid go into effect, according to a new report from consumer watchdog Public Citizen.

UPMC Mercy, UPMC McKeesport and UPMC Greene were among the 446 U.S. hospitals identified as vulnerable because of recent financial losses and their reliance on Medicaid, CHIP and other low-income government programs. Highlands Hospital in Connellsville also made the list.

In July, Congress passed and Trump signed a spending bill that will slash federal contributions to Medicaid and CHIP by more than $900 billion over a decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The law introduces new Medicaid work requirements, which go into effect at the start of next year. Tighter limits on Medicaid and CHIP eligibility for legal immigrants arrive in October 2026, and reductions in federal funding matches to support state Medicaid programs begin in October 2027.

The changes could weaken reimbursements hospitals receive for tending to Medicaid and CHIP patients as funding for these programs declines, and saddle providers with more uncompensated care as people lose insurance.

Several studies have projected the bill’s impact on hospitals. About a month before the law was enacted, the Pennsylvania Health Access Network compiled a list of 47 hospitals in the state that could be destabilized by Medicaid cuts. UPMC Mercy, UPMC McKeesport and UPMC Greene were among them.

UPMC did not immediately return a request for comment.

Public Citizen’s analysis takes a closer look at the demographics and incomes of communities served by vulnerable hospitals to “provide insight into the potential downstream effects of hospital closures or service cuts,” the report said.

Across the country, facilities labeled “high risk” by Public Citizen have about 69,000 beds and employ 275,000 medical workers. These hospitals serve a disproportionate number of Black and Hispanic patients as well as people living below the federal poverty line.

About 60% of at-risk hospitals were in urban areas, compared to 39% in rural settings.

Consequences of the cuts will take time to play out, the report noted, but recent service reductions and layoffs at some hospitals hint at what’s to come. For instance, Alameda Health System in California said in December it’s laying off nearly 300 employees because of changes to Medicaid.