We hit a devastating milestone last week: 1,000 hospitals, clinics, and essential providers are now closing, at risk of closure, or cutting services — all because Republicans gutted $1 trillion from health care to fund billionaire tax breaks.
TL;DR: Protect Our Care hit a grim milestone: 1,056 hospitals, clinics, and providers are closing, at risk, or cutting services. Sen. Murphy joined our press call to expose the damage. A new Gallup poll shows only 49% of Americans can consistently afford health care — a five-year low. Forbes reports 3 million Americans aged 50-64 could lose coverage. An Axios-Ipsos poll shows health care affordability is a top midterm issue. And Fortune reports Americans’ sense of health care security is at a record low. The scam-iversary is 12 days away.
Last week, we hit a devastating milestone.
Protect Our Care’s Hospital Crisis Watch has now tracked over 1,000 hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, maternity wards, and essential providers that have closed, are at risk of closure, or have cut essential services since Republicans’ health care cuts last July.
First reported in The Hill, Sen. Chris Murphy joined us to sound the alarm:
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT): “Republicans decided to cut Medicaid by around a trillion dollars — the only reason they did that was to pass along tax cuts for their billionaire and corporate friends. Your community hospital, the nursing home that you send your mother to, the maternity ward you’re planning to deliver your baby at, they are closing at an alarming rate, and that’s the consequence of the decision that Republicans made.”
Dr. Chris Ford, Emergency Medicine Physician (Milwaukee, WI): “When we talk about time and emergency medicine, time is everything. It’s the difference between recovery and disability, between a patient surviving and a patient dying. If these cuts continue, patients will continue to pay the price, and not just in dollars, but in delayed care, preventable suffering, and lives lost.”
Callie Harper, Health Care Advocate (Savannah, GA): “My daughter spent three months in the NICU, and she had a brain bleed, a lung disorder, and a vision disorder directly due to our delays in care. Had I been 30, 45, or 90 minutes from a hospital instead of down the road, she likely would not have survived. When you gut Medicaid, you don’t just cut an insurance program; you close the only door a woman can reach in the dark.”
Anne Shoup, POC Senior Advisor: “Behind each pin is a story. Whether it’s an expectant mother losing access to prenatal care, or seniors driving hours for care that used to be down the road, or people with disabilities facing gaps in caregiving — these pins represent our neighbors, our parents, and our kids.”
📺 Watch the full press call with Sen. Murphy
🗺️ Explore the interactive map
📰 Read our exclusive in The Hill
This week’s closures:
The damage keeps mounting state by state:
Alabama: Judge denies emergency request for Blue Cross to pay more to Jackson Hospital — future in doubt
Arkansas: Drive time to hospitals for labor and delivery getting longer
California: Inside SF’s mental health clinic for seniors marked for closure
D.C.: Nurses protest to keep postpartum unit open at DC’s largest hospital; closure could impact Maryland hospitals; nurses warn of “maternal health desert” risk
Illinois: Hospitals owe the state more than $700M, sparking questions and calls for change
Massachusetts: Families urge lawmakers to keep Pappas Hospital open; Baystate Health cuts jobs; maternity ward called “necessary” amid closure talk
Michigan: Sturgis Hospital closed this week — “A perfect storm”: Why rural hospitals across Michigan are struggling; staff reflect on final day; MDP Chair responds
Minnesota: Rural hospitals still waiting on promised federal grant money to ease Medicaid cuts
Missouri: MU Health Care layoffs and clinic closures; CareSTL loses federal funding — clinic “already collapsing”
Mississippi: Greenwood Leflore Hospital could close if Medicaid withholds funds, derailing UMMC deal
Montana: Libby’s asbestos clinic to close permanently this summer
Vermont: UVM Health is downsizing — what cuts mean for services
Hospital CEOs are speaking out: The damage is “not survivable”
Providers are sounding the alarm: Read their stories
Help amplify these posts on hospital closures:
📱 Jess Craven on Instagram — Breaking down the 1,000 hospital milestone
📝 Jess Craven on Substack — Why this matters for your community
Share these posts to make sure everyone knows what Republicans did.
Gallup: Affordability at Five-Year Low
A new Gallup poll reveals that fewer than half of Americans can consistently afford their health care.
The numbers are devastating:
51% of Americans lack access to quality, affordable care or can’t pay for needed care/medicine
Nearly 3 million more people can’t afford care compared to 2024
Only 38% of Black Americans and 32% of Hispanic Americans have affordable access to care
Health care affordability dropped 12% for women since 2022
Young adults (18-29) have seen the largest drop — affordability down 14% since 2021
More than half of adults with chronic conditions can’t afford their care
6 in 10 adults with anxiety and depression struggle to pay for health care
Axios-Ipsos Poll:
A new Axios-Ipsos poll shows health care affordability is a top midterm issue for voters.
Fortune:
Americans’ sense of health care security is at a record low — the lowest since tracking began.
Forbes: Trump policies threaten older Americans who aren’t yet on Medicare.
A new Forbes analysis shows Trump’s policies could strip health coverage from 3 million Americans aged 50-64 — people too young for Medicare but facing the highest premiums.
These are workers approaching retirement, cancer survivors, people managing chronic conditions — all watching their coverage disappear.
A new fact sheet shows how GOP cuts are deepening racial health disparities.
Black Americans are being forced to navigate a health care crisis created by Trump and Republicans. At a time when the country should be working to close racial health disparities, GOP cuts are widening them.
Key findings:
Only 38% of Black Americans have access to affordable care (compared to 55% of white adults)
Black Americans remain 1.5x more likely to be uninsured than white Americans
Black communities will bear the brunt of premium hikes, coverage losses, and provider closures
The cuts threaten coverage gains that helped reduce Black uninsured rates
Read the full fact sheet: Health Care for Black Families Is on the Line
Republicans aren’t just taking your health care — they’re taking your food.
Wall Street Journal: RFK Jr.’s Food Agenda Collides With Voter Concerns Over Rising Costs — RFK Jr. wants to overhaul what Americans eat, but voters are more worried about affording food at all.
Politico: The Quiet Unraveling of America’s Food Safety Net — SNAP cuts are devastating families across the country.
The Bulwark: Trump’s One Big Beautiful Hunger Crisis — The GOP’s cuts are creating a hunger emergency.
Remember: 61% of Americans are already cutting back on groceries. Now Republicans are slashing food assistance too.
The New York Times reports on a flu outbreak at an Air Force base — another reminder that public health threats don’t stop while Trump’s HHS remains in chaos.
Still no permanent FDA Commissioner, CDC Director, or Surgeon General.
1,056 — hospitals, clinics, providers closing or at risk
51% — Americans who can’t consistently afford health care
3 million — Americans aged 50-64 who could lose coverage
12% — drop in health care affordability for women since 2022
14% — drop in affordability for young adults since 2021
38% — Black Americans with access to affordable care (vs. 55% white)
12 days — until the July 4th scam-iversary
1,000 Hospitals:
Polling:
Food & Hunger Crisis:
Watch and share Sen. Murphy’s press call → YouTube
Explore the interactive map → Hospital Crisis Watch
Join One Nation, Overcharged → onenationovercharged.com
Tell your story → storytellercorps.com/share
1,056 hospitals. Millions losing coverage. 12 days until the scam-iversary. Republicans did this — and voters will remember.
Protect Our Care is fighting to protect and strengthen health care for all.
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