A Massachusetts senator says UPMC Kane is one of the rural hospitals at risk if the “Big Beautiful Bill” passes with the cuts to Medicaid that have been proposed.

Sen. Ed Markey, D- Mass., posted the hospital’s name on X, formerly known as Twitter, earlier this week. In a letter to President Trump, Majority Leader Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., Markey and three other senators made a plea for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.

“Republicans’ cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act will cause 16 million people in the U.S. to lose health insurance coverage. A majority of adults living in rural areas are concerned that these healthcare cuts will ‘negatively impact hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers in [their] community.’ They are right to be worried, as these cuts will have devastating consequences for health outcomes and costs, jobs and the economic success of rural communities,” the letter read.

“Today, we write to provide you with detailed information about rural hospitals that are uniquely at risk of financial distress and even closure, conversion or service reductions because of the cuts in the House-passed reconciliation package,” it continued. “The information provided by the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina (Sheps Center) illustrates what your party’s reconciliation bill will mean for the health of Americans living in rural communities.”

A chart was included with the letter, spelling out hospitals in each state that the research center reported would be negatively impacted. UPMC Kane was on the list.

A UPMC spokesperson had only this to say, “UPMC remains committed to ensuring that patients in rural communities, like those served by UPMC Kane, have access to high-quality, local care. Rural hospitals face distinct challenges, and being part of a large, integrated health system like UPMC allows them to benefit from shared resources, clinical expertise and operational support.”

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., ranking member of the committee on finance; Sen. Jeffrey Merkley, D-Ore., ranking member of the committee on budget; and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also signed the letter, which explained how the hospitals were chosen for the list.

“These hospitals have been identified as at-risk hospitals based on financial data, including: whether the hospital has been unprofitable for the last three years; whether the hospital is at risk of financial distress relative to peer hospitals; and whether the hospital serves a disproportionately high share of Medicaid patients,” the letter stated. “The findings demonstrate that hundreds of rural hospitals across the country would feel pain from the House-passed reconciliation bill.

“Altogether, 338 hospitals either experienced three consecutive years of negative total margins,  served the highest share of Medicaid patients or both. (Eighty-three) rural hospitals are at the highest relative risk of financial distress based on a model that uses hospital financial performance, organizational trains and market characteristics to predict future financial distress.”

The letter concludes, “Billionaire tax breaks are not worth the cost to American lives and livelihoods.”

The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania has been sounding the alarm about healthcare in the state.

“Hospitals — and the care they provide — are in jeopardy. More than half of Pennsylvania’s acute care hospitals operated at a loss last year, while another 15 percent posted margins below what is considered sustainable,” read a statement from the agency. “Record inflation, rising drug prices and surging staffing expenses have pushed the cost of delivering care well beyond payments from government and private insurers. While these issues affect hospitals in every community, rural hospitals face unique challenges that put their ability to serve their communities at risk.”

The healthcare facilities are necessary, especially in rural areas, the agency noted.

“Hospitals are critical to the health, economies and vitality of their communities. It is essential to protect access to hospital care by aligning payments with the actual cost of care and eliminating outdated regulatory requirements that have no bearing on patient safety.”

The other Pennsylvania hospitals on the list are UPMC Jameson in New Castle, UPMC Northwest at Seneca, UPMC Horizon at Greenville and Highlands Hospital in Connellsville. None of the New York hospitals on the list are within the local region, with the closest being Westfield Memorial Hospital in Chautauqua County.