INDIANA – President Donald Trump’s proposed Medicaid budget cuts within his “big, beautiful bill” are raising alarms among lawmakers, with fears that at least a dozen rural hospitals in Indiana, and hundreds nationwide, could face significant financial distress or even closure, including Ascension St. Vincent Salem in Salem.
A bipartisan group of senators has voiced concerns. U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) stated last week, “Rural hospitals are going to be in bad shape.”
Four Democratic senators – Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts), Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Jeffrey Merkley (D-Oregon), and Charles Schumer (D-New York) – sent a letter to President Trump last week, citing research from the University of North Carolina. Their letter warns that the proposed Medicaid reductions, as currently drafted, would impact 338 hospitals across the United States.
The senators highlighted the critical role of rural hospitals beyond healthcare provision: “Lack of health care access in rural America is contributing to worse health outcomes. Rural hospitals are often the largest employers in rural communities. 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 identifies explicitly 12 Indiana hospitals that the bill could potentially impact:
- Daviess Community Hospital in Washington
- Memorial Hospital Logansport in Logansport
- Community Hospital of Bremen Inc. in Bremen
- Ascension St. Vincent Randolph in Winchester
- Ascension St. Vincent Jennings in North Vernon
- Ascension St. Vincent Clay in Brazil
- Ascension St. Vincent Salem in Salem
- IU Health Jay Hospital in Portland
- Franciscan Health Rensselaer in Rensselaer
- Sullivan County Community Hospital in Sullivan
- Adams Memorial Hospital in Decatur
- Harrison County Hospital in Corydon
