Health

10 Va. Hospitals At Risk Due To GOP Medicaid Cuts

A new report warns that Medicaid cuts could force the closure of ten Virginia hospitals, putting rural communities at serious risk and limiting access to essential care as lawmakers clash over the impact of Republican-backed budget changes.
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WASHINGTON, D.C.

Following a new report finding that Medicaid cuts have put ten hospitals in Virginia at risk of closure, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) underscored the devastating effects of the Republican budget law on communities across the Commonwealth.

“From Southwest to Northern Virginia, hospitals across the Commonwealth are now at risk of closure because of Republicans’ tax giveaway bill for the ultra-wealthy,” said the senators. “While the rich got trillions in tax breaks, hard-working Virginians are left paying the price. This latest report shows just how cruel and reckless this law is. Virginians, and Americans across the country, deserve reliable access to affordable, quality care.”

The report shows the Virginia hospitals at risk of closure are in mainly rural communities: Emporia, Grundy, Tazewell, Clintwood, South Boston, Woodbridge, Farmville, Galax, South Hill, and Tappahannock.

The report also highlighted how Farmville’s Centra Southside Community Hospital was forced to close labor and delivery and OBGYN surgical services, as well as outpatient care with its affiliated women’s center, because it “like other rural health care providers, must adapt to significant financial and operational challenges, including recently enacted reductions in federal health care funding.”

While the budget bill was being considered in the Senate, Warner and Kaine introduced a series of amendments in an attempt to improve the legislation, but Republicans blocked them.