Being able to get to a hospital quickly in an emergency can be a matter of life and death. 🚨 However, in many rural areas, hospitals are closing their doors. This issue hits hard all across the country, and PA isn’t immune. 😷
How bad are things? We’ve got the data from some new studies. 👇
Here’s Five Fast Facts on PA’s rural hospitals:
- 🏥 Taking the L - In PA’s rural counties, almost half (48%) of general acute care hospitals operated at a loss during fiscal year 2023. Financial pressures often force these hospitals to reduce services or close altogether, leaving nearby residents without access to medical care.
- 🩺 Troubling Trend - This dilemma isn’t just a Pennsylvania thing. A recent nationwide study found that 46% of rural hospitals across the United States are operating in the red. A staggering 432 facilities are at risk of closure, up from 418 from last year.
- 🍼 Oh, Baby - When in a financial bind, hospitals tend to scale back on services. Between 2011 and 2023, 293 rural hospitals nationwide (24%) stopped providing OB (pregnancy-related) services. States with the highest percentage of rural hospitals who stopped OB services were Florida (57%) and Pennsylvania (42%).
- 📉 Seeing Red - For American rural hospitals, the median operating margin is 1%. In 16 states, that margin is negative. Here are the states with the highest number of rural hospitals running in the red: Connecticut (100%), Kansas (87%), Washington (76%), Oklahoma (70%), and Wyoming (70%).
- ✂️ Cutting Floor - Whenever the government decides to make policies that cut reimbursements from government programs, rural hospitals suffer more than suburban or city-based hospitals. For example, the current 2% required cuts in Medicare reimbursement will cost rural hospitals over $509 million this year as well as a loss of over 8,000 jobs.
🔥Bottom line: PA’s rural hospitals aren't the only places hurting for cash. Schools in some parts of the Keystone State are also in a pickle. Head here to check out what’s being done (and not being done) to close the funding gap in PA’s poorest schools.
Are hospitals closing in your area?
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