DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — Senator Dick Durbin told WAND News that hospitals, medical facilities and nursing homes will be hurt financially by Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s budget bill signed into law July 4.
“I’m not going to name names,” Durbin stated. “A major hospital in one of our major cities in Central Illinois said it’s going to cut back and stop delivering of babies, mental health counseling.”
Hospitals in the area have been struggling in recent years. The Medicaid cutbacks could force patients to travel long distances to obtain care in rural areas. They are also likely to raise prices for non-Medicaid patients.
Last week, OSF Healthcare announced plans to eliminate some services at Heart of Mary Medical Center in Urbana. Among the services being eliminated are open-heart surgery, pediatrics and cardiac catheterization, as part of a strategy to consolidate operations into one hospital with two campuses, the other being OSF Sacred Heart Medical Center.
Thursday, an OSF spokesman told WAND News that OSF is expanding mental health services despite cuts in other areas. OSF said it doesn't yet know the full scale of how the federal budget will impact its hospital system.
The January 2026 restructuring will reduce the number of medical and surgical beds from 110 to 25 and close the surgery department with 15 operating rooms.
OSF cited financial losses exceeding $361 million since acquiring the hospital in 2017.
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