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yesterday

Backlash Grows Over GOP Health Legislation as Rural Services Close

Hospitals report closures and layoffs tied to projected coverage losses from the plan.

An exam table is moved onto a trailer, on the final day of operation at Ammonoosuc Community Health Services in Franconia, New Hampshire, as the clinic closes for good, on October 23, 2025.
Sen. Susan Collins on Capitol Hill in November.
Sen. Jon Ossoff arrives on stage during a re-election campaign event in Atlanta, Georgia, in February.
Workers from Service Employees International Union protest proposed Medicaid cuts near the US Capitol building last June.

Overview

  • CBO scoring estimates 10 million people would lose insurance over a decade, including about 7.5 million losing Medicaid due to new work requirements.
  • Rural providers are reporting immediate cuts, including a closed maternity ward at St. Mary's Sacred Heart in Georgia, MercyOne’s Ottumwa clinic shutdown with layoffs in Iowa, and Ammonoosuc’s Franconia site closure in New Hampshire.
  • Trinity Health projects a $1.5 billion annual revenue hit, while Northern Light Health in Maine expects a $27 million drop after roughly 34,000 residents lose Medicaid coverage.
  • Hospital groups and executives warn of an “impossible” financial squeeze as uninsured patients still require emergency care and the legislation curtails provider taxes and special payment mechanisms.
  • Republicans face mounting political fallout, with Rep. Zach Nunn challenged over MercyOne cuts and Sen. Jon Ossoff spotlighting Georgia’s maternity closure, while the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program is criticized as insufficient even by some GOP supporters such as Sen. Susan Collins.