Since 2010, 120 rural hospitals have closed across the country ― 19 in this year alone, according to data from the University of North Carolina’s Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. A national analysis of Medicare cost reports found that 21% of the nation’s remaining rural hospitals are at high risk of closing.
“Frankly, it’s not getting better,” said Dr. Daniel DeBehnke, study co-author and a managing director with Navigant’s health care practice.
