Rural Hospitals Facing Widespread Upheaval

A recent article for Time Magazine examines the underlying reasons rural hospitals are forced to close. Alabama has found itself in the center of this rural healthcare crisis, with 23 of the state’s rural hospitals at immediate risk of closing. While rural hospital closures are often blamed on poor reimbursement rates from Medicate and Medicaid, the reason for these closures goes deeper than that. Small rural hospitals often get less reimbursement from private insurers because they are unable to compete with the steep discounts insurers are receiving from larger hospital systems, forcing care out of rural, underserved areas and into more profitable communities. When hospitals leave these vulnerable communities behind, many people forego preventative care and testing and those who need care are forced to travel long distances to receive it. Our Health Equity believes in placing patients’ lives over profits, prioritizing care in underserved communities and ensuring that every American has access to accessible and comprehensive medical care. Read more here.