Danville, Ill. (WICS) — A major warning sign for rural health care.
OSF Sacred Heart Medical Center in Danville is on a national list of hospitals facing financial instability and potential closure.
This if President Trump’s proposed “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which includes deep Medicaid cuts, becomes law.
OSF Sacred Heart Medical Center in Danville is one of 338 rural hospitals nationwide — and one of just nine in Illinois — on a list shared by Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts.
The list highlights hospitals facing two major challenges: three consecutive years of financial losses and/or a high percentage of Medicaid patients among rural hospitals.
OSF Sacred Heart is in Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District, which has the highest number of Medicaid recipients in the state — more than 314,000 people, including 133,000 children and over 23,000 adults living with disabilities.
OSF told me in a statement, in part, quote:
We’re continuing to watch things in Washington and will respond in the best interest of our employees and patients depending on what legislation is passed. There are no plans to close our Danville hospital. In fact, services are expected to increase there with the changes announced a couple weeks ago related to our Urbana hospital.
Congresswoman Robin Kelly, who represents the district, says cuts to Medicaid in the Republican budget would have catastrophic effects, saying:
The cuts to Medicaid in the Republican budget would have catastrophic effects. In addition to ripping away healthcare from 16 million Americans, including nearly half a million people in Illinois, hospitals in the state could face an increase of $1.3 billion in uncompensated care. Hospitals in rural areas already face financial pressure, but instead of helping them, Congressional Republicans want to shut hospitals down, including nine at-risk rural hospitals in Illinois. OSF Sacred Heart Medical Center in Danville is one of the few hospitals in the Second District that provides full labor and delivery services. Without that hospital, mothers would need to travel further for care, putting their lives and their babies at risk. This budget is dangerous for everyone, whether you live in the city, suburbs, or rural communities.
This comes after OSF announced Urbana’s Heart of Mary and Danville’s Sacred Heart will soon operate as one hospital with two campuses.
Urbana will focus on behavioral health while continuing to offer emergency and limited outpatient services.
The bill has passed the House and now heads to the U.S. Senate.
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