Nationwide trend of rural hospital closures continues

Since 2010, nearly 90 rural hospitals have shut their doors and by one estimate, hundreds of other rural hospitals are at risk of doing so (Source: “A Sense of Alarm as Rural Hospitals Keep Closing,” New York Times, Oct. 29, 2018).

In its June report to Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission found that of the 67 rural hospitals that closed since 2013, about one-third were more than 20 miles from the next closest hospital. 

A study published last year in Health Affairs by researchers from the University of Minnesota found that over half of rural counties now lack obstetric services. Another study, published in Health Services Research, showed that such closures increase the distance pregnant women must travel for delivery.

Not all closures are problematic, however. Some are in areas with sufficient hospital capacity. Moreover, in many cases hospitals that close offer relatively poorer quality care than nearby ones that remain open. This forces patients into higher-quality facilities and may offset negative effects associated with the additional distance they must travel.