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Wednesday, Jul. 2, 2025

Are rural hospitals in Oklahoma at risk of closing?

Matthew Yim, Oklahoma Watch
yes

The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform identified 47 rural hospitals in Oklahoma that are at risk of closing, with 23 of them at immediate risk of closing.

Those at immediate risk of closing have been experiencing losses over a multi-year period without sufficient funding while those that are merely at risk receive some amount of funding to offset losses.

According to the American Hospital Association, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (HR 1) would lead to a reduction of $50.4 billion in federal Medicaid spending on rural hospitals over ten years. Oklahoma’s rural hospitals would experience a $2.4 billion reduction.

An analysis by KFF found that overall, Oklahoma would see a decrease of $8 billion – $13 billion of the bill’s $793 billion federal Medicaid cuts.

One in four Oklahomans is enrolled in Medicaid, but the total number is estimated to decrease by 138,000 due to cuts.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

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