Nearly 700 rural hospitals across the country are at risk of closing due to severe financial problems, according to an Oct. 28 Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform
analysis.
Madeline Scheetz
reports for
Becker’s Hospital Review that of the hospitals at risk, 260 face immediate risk of closure. "Rural hospitals are at risk of closing in almost every state, except four: Utah, Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. More than 25% of rural hospitals are at risk of closure in the majority of states and 50% or more are at risk in 11 states." Arkansas has 32 hospitals at risk, Kansas has 58, Oklahoma has 44, Texas has 84, and Mississippi has 35 hospitals at risk and 24 at immediate risk of closing.
More than 40% of rural hospitals are losing money. Many are cutting inpatient services to get higher Medicare and Medicaid payments for other services, as is required under the federal "Rural Emergency Hospital" program. The CHQPR analysis said federal programs should preserve and expand rural health programs, not reduce them. In Oklahoma, with 44 rural hospitals at risk, Tanner DeLeon
reports for
Oklahoma News 4 that issues with private insurers may be impacting decisions to close.
Many rural hospitals close due to funding shortages or cuts to Medicaid, but on top of that, when citizens choose a private insurance plan that better fits their budget, hospitals are not paid as timely as they are with regular Medicare.
"For rural hospitals, where under traditional Medicare, they’ll be reimbursed in a very timely manner and they will be reimbursed the maximum they’re allowed under the federal law. That’s not the case with Medicare Advantage," said Rich Rasmussen, President and CEO of the Oklahoma Hospital Association. "The health plans aren’t obligated to paying rural hospitals the same way." Rasmussen hopes Congress will investigate the issue before the year is over, and he urges Oklahomans to be more cautious of what insurance plans they buy.
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