Study: Rural hospitals less likely to offer labor and delivery services after mergers

Rural hospitals are less likely to offer obstetric services after they’ve been acquired by a larger health system, leading to mixed outcomes for mothers and babies, according to new research (Source: “Rural hospitals often scrap labor and delivery services after mergers, study finds,” Ohio Capital Journal, Sept. 17).

The National Bureau of Economic Research study found that of the more than 450 mergers from 2006-2019, rural hospitals that merged with larger systems are 30% less likely to still offer labor and delivery services five years later. The findings are similar to the latest data from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, which found that more than 100 rural hospitals have stopped delivering babies or announced they’ll stop in 2025.

Those large-scale changes to the health system can affect costs, quality and access to care, said Martin Gaynor, a coauthor of the NBER study and professor emeritus of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon.

Last year alone, 22 states enacted at least 34 laws related to health system consolidation and competition, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, an advisory think tank for lawmakers. Other states, meanwhile, have paved the way for health mergers in a bid to save failing rural hospitals.

At least 35 states now require hospitals, health systems, providers and private equity firms to notify a state official of proposed mergers or other contracts.