Fauci, hospital closures, mergers and Trump: Our 10 most well-read stories of 2025

It’s been a remarkably eventful year for hospitals and health systems over the past year.

Our 10 most well-read stories cover some different topics, but a few themes proved to be popular with readers. With a switch in administrations in Washington, there was strong interest in federal health agencies and policymakers.

Hospital mergers typically earn strong reader interest, and a few hospital closures commanded significant attention, as some health systems are facing a challenging road.

Here are our 10 most well-read stories of the past year, starting at number 10 and working our way to the top.

10. Planned Minnesota health system merger unravels

The University of Minnesota long espoused the potential benefits of creating a Minnesota health system formed by a merger of Essentia Health and Fairview Health Services.

Essentia pulled out of talks with the University of Minnesota about a merged system in the fall.

Fairview and University of Minnesota Physicians, a clinical practice, announced they had reached a 10-year deal slated to begin in 2027, MPR reports. But the university has criticized the agreement and said it was left out of the talks.

9. Indiana approves hospital merger, despite FTC objections

Indiana officials approved Union Health’s acquisition of Terre Haute Regional Hospital, a deal that had been in the works for years.

Federal regulators, under former President Biden and President Trump, said they objected to the transaction, citing concerns of higher costs for consumers and reduced services. State officials said they included enough safeguards to address those concerns.

8. After merging, New Hampshire hospitals move to separate

Several years after merging, two New Hampshire health systems said they wanted to go their separate ways.

SolutionHealth has filed a “disaffiliation agreement” with New Hampshire state officials. Elliot Health System and Southern New Hampshire Health joined forces in 2018 to create SolutionHealth. .The leadership of the entities say the separation is in their best interest, and would be best for their communities.

7. Three Pennsylvania hospitals are close to being sold, again

Community Health Systems, Inc. has tried to sell three hospitals in northeastern Pennsylvania, and now it appears the efforts may be coming to fruition.

CHS says it has reached a definitive agreement to sell the hospitals to Tenor Health Foundation. Under the deal, Tenor Health Foundation would acquire Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, a 369-bed facility in Wilkes-Barre; Regional Hospital of Scranton, a 186-bed facility, and Moses Taylor Hospital, a 122-bed hospital in Scranton.

6. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nears likely Senate confirmation

Of course, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gained Senate approval and took over the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. At the time of this story, Kennedy was closing in on confirmation but it wasn’t a lock, and he received confirmation in a narrow 52-48 vote.

Kennedy has pushed for greater attention on healthier foods, an area that has elicited plenty of support. But he has drawn widespread criticism for sweeping layoffs in the health department, including the ouster of key leaders, including Susan Monarez, the former CDC director.

Public health leaders have denounced Kennedy’s sweeping changes to federal vaccine policy, including the prospect of changes to the childhood vaccine schedule.

In October, six former surgeons general, representing Republican and Democratic administrations, issued a sober warning that Kennedy’s actions “are endangering the health of the nation.”

5. How Donald Trump’s return affects hospitals: Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act and tariffs

With President Trump returning to the White House, health systems were anxious to see his impact on federal health policy.

The Trump administration made sweeping changes, which alarmed many healthcare leaders. The president and Republican leaders in Congress brokered a tax package with steep cuts to Medicaid condemned as “the largest cuts to care our country has ever seen.” Hospital executives warn the cuts could lead to millions losing Medicaid coverage, with hospitals closing due to mounting financial pressures.

Hospital leaders implored Congress to extend subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. But even in the wake of a government shutdown that lasted for several weeks, lawmakers didn’t extend the tax credits, meaning millions may no longer be able to afford coverage.

The president’s tariff policies also posed challenges for hospitals and health systems, which rely on many supplies produced abroad.

4. New Jersey hospital closes, leaving officials ‘deeply disappointed’

Heights University Hospital, which served Jersey City for more than 150 years, closed its doors in November, stunning area residents and angering New Jersey state regulators.

Hudson Regional Health, which owns the hospital, says it will maintain an emergency department at the facility. Hudson Regional also says patients will be able to get care at the system’s three other hospitals in northern New Jersey.

Hudson Regional pointed to an inability to secure needed funding from state officials.

The New Jersey Health Department said it provided millions to help sustain the hospital, and the department also said Hudson Regional didn’t follow a restructuring plan approved by a federal bankruptcy court.

3. Two Oregon hospitals announce closures in a week

Within the span of a week, two Oregon hospitals said that they are planning to end inpatient services at their facilities.

Vibra Specialty Hospital in Portland announced that it will be closing February 1, 2026. The hospital's closure affects 310 employees.

Days later, the nonprofit Asante health system said Ashland Community Hospital in southern Oregon will be closing its inpatient services and obstetric services by next spring. The hospital had operated 49 inpatient beds. Asante said the hospital will continue to operate its emergency department and outpatient services.

Becky Hultberg, president and CEO of the Hospital Association of Oregon, told Chief Healthcare Executive® in a May 2025 interview that Oregon’s hospitals are facing serious financial hardships.

2. Ohio hospital’s closure leaves disappointment

When Insight Health Systems purchased the Trumbull Regional Medical Center in Warren, Ohio following Steward Health Care’s bankruptcy, local residents cheered the preservation of its hospital.

More than a year later, the hospital, now called Insight Hospital & Medical Center Trumbull, has been shuttered for much of the year. The hospital has lost its certification from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The Ohio Department of Health is moving to revoke the facility’s license.

1. Why President Biden pardoned Anthony Fauci

Just before leaving the White House in January, President Joe Biden issued a preemptive pardon to Dr. Anthony Fauci, his former chief medical adviser.

The pardon prevents Fauci from facing prosecution in the future.

Fauci helped lead the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic and directed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, for nearly four decades.

Biden also issued pardons to Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and congressional members of the committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.

“The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense,” Biden said.