Close

Financial Crisis Pushing 600 US Rural Hospitals To Closure

Note* - All images used are for editorial and illustrative purposes only and may not originate from the original news provider or associated company.

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from any location or device.

Media Packs

Expand Your Reach With Our Customized Solutions Empowering Your Campaigns To Maximize Your Reach & Drive Real Results!

– Access the Media Pack Now

– Book a Conference Call

– Leave Message for Us to Get Back

Related stories

CMS in US Launches WISeR Model to Enhance Original Medicare

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is...

England GP IT Market Witnesses Shake-Up Unseen in 25 Years

England’s National Health Service, which is popularly known as...

Label Expansion In Alzheimers Gives GE HealthCare An Edge

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has gone...

US Health Systems Accelerating AI Collaborations

US Health systems are speeding up their collaborations with...

As per insights, the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform (CHQPR) revealed that over 600 rural hospitals in the U.S. are facing financial instability, putting more than 30% of the country’s rural hospitals at risk of closure. For half of these hospitals, the risk of closure is immediate. Only five states, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Utah, have rural hospitals not at risk. In over half of all states, at least a quarter of rural hospitals are facing closure, and in 16 states, the number rises to 40% or more.

The main reasons behind the dire financial situation of rural hospitals are twofold. Firstly, health plans are not adequately reimbursing rural hospitals, despite the fact that delivering healthcare in rural areas is more expensive due to smaller patient volumes and higher staff attraction costs. Surprisingly, private insurers pay rural hospitals less than Medicare and Medicaid, exacerbating their financial losses.

The second major issue is the low financial reserves of rural hospitals. Insights suggest most rural hospitals lack enough net assets to offset patient service losses for more than six or seven years. For the hospitals at immediate risk of closure, this period is reduced to just two years.

To prevent rural hospital closures, private insurers must increase payments to rural hospitals, estimating that an annual boost of about $4 billion would suffice. Additionally, the health plans should issue standby capacity payments to rural hospitals, recognizing the essential role they play in rural communities. The closure of rural hospitals would not only impact healthcare accessibility but also threaten industries vital to the country’s food supply and energy production, as many farms, ranches, mines, drilling sites, wind farms, and solar energy facilities are located in rural regions, dependent on the availability of healthcare services to attract and retain a workforce.

Latest stories

Related stories

CMS in US Launches WISeR Model to Enhance Original Medicare

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is...

England GP IT Market Witnesses Shake-Up Unseen in 25 Years

England’s National Health Service, which is popularly known as...

Label Expansion In Alzheimers Gives GE HealthCare An Edge

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has gone...

US Health Systems Accelerating AI Collaborations

US Health systems are speeding up their collaborations with...

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from any location or device.

Media Packs

Expand Your Reach With Our Customized Solutions Empowering Your Campaigns To Maximize Your Reach & Drive Real Results!

– Access the Media Pack Now

– Book a Conference Call

– Leave Message for Us to Get Back