McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield will soon be owned by a nonprofit health care organization if regulators approve a merger, a change that its private equity-backed owner hopes will help the hospital weather looming Medicaid funding cuts.
The ownership change is part of a proposed merger between the hospital’s current owner, Tennessee-based Quorum Health, and Healthside Partners, which Quorum officials call a newly formed nonprofit. Quorum CEO Chris Harrison said the company will not disclose how much the deal cost Healthside.
The proposal comes as hospitals prepare for Medicaid funding reductions under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which passed last year. The law is projected to cut $911 billion in federal Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program spending during the next 10 years, according to a March report from consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. The report identified McKenzie-Willamette among 446 U.S. hospitals that could face greater financial strain and pressure to reduce services because of the cuts…