Unity Health Jacksonville, the only hospital in the city, closed its emergency room and medical-surgical unit and will become a psychiatric hospital. The move comes three years after the $36 million hospital opened, providing a 13-bed emergency department and a 24-bed behavioral health unit. A financial report filed early last year indicated the facility lost almost $10 million in 2024.
Democrats blamed Republicans for the closure, citing the current healthcare climate and Medicaid reimbursement issues. Rep. Mark Perry of Jacksonville, serving on the hospital’s advisory council, noted that Medicaid charges weren’t being reimbursed due to correctable problems like Medicaid coverage lapses from changing addresses or phone numbers. When coverage lapses, patients typically discover the problem at the doctor’s office when their card doesn’t work, forcing them to seek emergency care where hospitals cannot refuse treatment but face uncompensated care since they cannot bill anyone.
Allison Grigsby Sweatman, a clinical social worker running as a Democrat for state Senate District 13, stated: “The hospital closing is a direct result of the budget prioritizing tax cuts for the wealthiest Arkansans over health care for the people who need it the most.” She noted that hospitals treat patients and receive no reimbursement due to policy failures.
Medicaid Reimbursement and Policy
Medicaid reimbursements in Arkansas are much lower than surrounding states, though legislators have claimed insufficient funding exists to increase rates. The federal government pays three-fourths of Medicaid reimbursements while the state covers the remaining quarter. Governor Sarah Sanders opposed extending Medicaid coverage for mothers for a full year after birth, making Arkansas the only state not allowing new mothers to maintain Medicaid coverage for a full year postpartum.
Arkansas will launch a work requirement for Medicaid recipients starting in January as part of the federal “Big Beautiful Bill.” Research has shown work requirements do little more than remove people from the program. Rep. Jeff Wardlaw noted that 25 to 30 hospitals in the state are at risk of closure in the next decade due to multiple factors, including low insurance reimbursements.
Clinical social worker Sweatman emphasized that public welfare suffers without nearby emergency rooms. “Minutes matter when it comes to emergency health care, so rushing someone to the hospital in a moment of need will now take longer for residents of Jacksonville.” She warned other Arkansas hospitals may follow without legislative attention to Medicaid.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2026/04/16/jacksonville-hospital-ends-er-and-medical-services