Inpatient psych units brace for Medicaid cuts: 5 updates 

Reductions in Medicaid funding could lead more hospitals to close their inpatient psychiatric units, KFF Health News reported May 12. 

At least 100 inpatient mental health units have closed in the past decade, according to the American Hospital Association, and hospital leaders worry a loss in Medicaid funding could accelerate this trend. 

Here are five things to know: 

1. On May 11, House Republicans unveiled a 160-page bill that would impose $715 billion in cuts to Medicaid and ACA spending over the next 10 years. 
   
   
2. The bill would implement stricter eligibility requirements for Medicaid and impose work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries. It would also increase the frequency of eligibility redeterminations.
   
   
3. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the proposal would result in at least 8.6 million people becoming uninsured by 2034.
   
   
4. Medicaid pays for a higher share of behavioral care than other service lines. According to KFF Health News, Medicaid covered 41% of psychiatric inpatients in 2024, compared to 13% of those admitted for cancer and 9% of those for heart disease. 
   
   
5. One in three non-elderly Medicaid beneficiaries have some form of mental illness, according to KFF. 

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