February 9, 2023
Providers
  • A new study predicts that rural hospital closures will increase in 2023 as COVID-19 pandemic relief dollars erode. The study found nearly 51 percent of rural hospitals have a negative operating margin, and the number of facilities eliminating services like obstetrics increased in 2022. The Provider Relief Fund and other relief programs helped keep hospital closures relatively low amid the COVID-19 pandemic – only two hospitals closed in 2021 and seven in 2022. However, over the past 13 years, 143 facilities have closed and another 453 are vulnerable to shutting their doors. (Article here)