HOW POLITICS AND WALL STREET

ARE DESTROYING AMERICAN HOSPITALS

Hospital Map

A new Protect Our Care report shows how Republican budget cuts to Medicaid and the ACA could devastate America’s hospitals. The plan would slash $1 trillion over the next decade, taking health coverage from 15 million people and putting more than 330 hospitals on the verge of closing. Hundreds more would soon follow, predominantly rural and safety-net hospitals that serve the most vulnerable patients.

Medicaid is a lifeline. It pays for one out of every five hospital stays nationwide. Without it, hospitals lose critical funding, forcing staff layoffs, longer travel for emergency care, and leaving entire towns without a local hospital. The report warns that nearly half a million healthcare workers could lose their jobs, deepening the crisis.

At the same time, many hospitals that remain open are being gutted by private equity investors. A Senate investigation found that Prospect Medical Holdings—run by Wall Street firms—cut corners so severely that doctors had to buy supplies out of pocket and even cancel surgeries because equipment wasn’t available. Research backs this up: hospitals bought by private equity have seen higher rates of patient harm.

Together, these threats create a dangerous cycle. Cuts to Medicaid push hospitals toward closure, while private equity drains resources from those that survive. The result is fewer hospitals, worse care, and higher risks for patients across the country.

The solutions are straightforward. Congress must stop deep Medicaid cuts and put strict rules on private equity ownership in healthcare to ensure hospitals are run for patients—not profits. If nothing changes, the U.S. could lose hundreds of hospitals, leaving millions without safe, reliable care.

Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill Will Shutter Rural Hospitals, Slash Vital Care, And Leave Entire Communities in Crisis PDF (Protect Our Care, 8-25)

Here's a Map of What Trump-GOP Destruction of US Hospitals Looks Like (Common Dreams, 8-21-25)

5 ways Trump's megabill will limit health care access (NPR, 7-3-25)

A Dangerous Prospect:How Private Equity Decimated Connecticut Hospitals PDF (Murphy)

New Senate Report Details How Private Equity 'Devastates' Hospital Systems (Common Dreams, 8-20-25)

Murphy's report details conditions inside Prospect's three CT hospitals. 'It was terrible' (CT Insider, 8-20-25)