National Rural Healthcare Remains Unstable and Underfunded

A February 2025 report from The Chartis Center for Rural Health finds that 46% of all United States rural hospitals operate in the red. Since 2010, 188 rural hospitals have either closed or significantly reduced their available long-term in-patient care. These closures in historically underserved communities limit residents’ options for care, often forcing them to travel long distances to receive long-term or intensive care. Chartis finds 432 additional rural hospitals vulnerable to closure, exacerbating existing rural care deserts.

Rural and urban communities alike are seeing a trend when it comes to their healthcare providers. Healthcare systems will close their urban or rural offices, where patients often have a higher need with fewer resources available to put towards that need and flee to the suburbs where wealthier and whiter communities receive their care. The result is a vast care gap between urban and rural communities and their suburban counterparts. Chartis’ full study is available here, and an analysis of the report is available here.