Clinics have been filling the care gaps as more rural hospitals close, but now a string of rural clinic closures is putting communities at risk of losing healthcare access.
Here are four things hospitals should know:
1. Nearly 200 rural hospitals have closed or ended inpatient services in the past 20 years. In 2023, almost half of rural hospitals operated at a loss, the American Hospital Association found.
2. Rural clinics across the nation are shutting down or consolidating, with many citing Medicaid changes as the reason for closure. Since the beginning of September, 13 clinics have announced intentions to close:
- Fisherville, Va.-based Augusta Medical Group will consolidate three health clinics in rural communities and move patient care to other facilities.
- Curtis Medical Center in Nebraska will shut its doors Sept. 30, The Washington Post reported.
- At least three rural clinics in Maine plan to close in September, ABC affiliate WMTW reported.
- Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic Health System plans to close six clinics across southeastern Minnesota and transition care to other locations by Dec. 10.
3. The tax and spending package Congress passed in July is expected to add financial difficulties to rural areas — most of which are already struggling with cutbacks and poor coverage. Federal Medicaid spending in rural areas could decrease by $137 billion over the next decade, KFF estimated. Some of the latest closures come in anticipation of the nearly $1 trillion reduction in federal Medicaid spending expected to hit in 2027.
4. The law established a $50 billion rural health transformation fund to be distributed to states over five years. Critics say the funds are inadequate, and ambiguity over how funds will be distributed has some concerned that funding will not reach hospitals that need it.
