Six rural Colorado hospitals could close in the coming years if Congress adopts the more than $600 million in Medicaid cuts currently included in the Republican tax bill, according to projections commissioned by Senate Democrats.
The listed hospitals are spread across the state, including three on the Western Slope, one in the San Luis Valley and two on the Eastern Plains. The report is based on one version of an evolving bill, so the final result could cause financial distress for fewer, or more, Colorado hospitals than anticipated.
Other types of providers, including community mental health centers and safety net clinics in Colorado, also expect to cut services or close locations, though groups representing the clinics don’t foresee providers going under entirely. The Senate report didn’t examine effects on provider types other than hospitals.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act backed by President Donald Trump, as passed by the House of Representatives, would add work requirements to Medicaid, increase the cost of health insurance on the individual marketplace and penalize states that cover undocumented immigrants, among other provisions.
A proposed amendment would also reduce states’ ability to draw down more federal funds by taxing health care providers, but its chances in the full Senate aren’t clear.
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