Healthcare Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings rose to 12 cases in the first quarter of 2026, up from 9 cases in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to an April report by Gibbins Advisors.
The report analyzed Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings with liabilities of at least $10 million across healthcare and medical sectors from January 2019 through March 2026.
Six things to know:
1. Senior care and clinics/physician practices saw the highest number of filings by subsector in the first quarter of 2026, with four each.
2. There was one hospital Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the first quarter, down from three in the fourth quarter of 2025 and four in the first quarter of 2025.
3. Since the start of 2019, there has been an average of 12.4 healthcare Chapter 11 bankruptcies per quarter.
4. Annualized, 2026 is on pace to see 48 healthcare bankruptcy filings, up from 45 in 2025. There were 57 filings in 2024 and 79 in 2023, the seven-year high.
5. Since 2019, senior care has accounted for 24.2% of all healthcare Chapter 11 filings and pharmaceuticals have accounted for 23.3%. Hospitals accounted for 13.1% of filings over that span, followed by clinics and physician practices at 11.4% and medical equipment and supplies at 10.3%.
6. Filings with liabilities between $10 million and $50 million made up approximately two-thirds of Q1 2026 filings, consistent with recent years. Filings with more than $500 million in liabilities rose to two cases in Q1 2026 from zero in Q4 2025. Cases in the $100 million-$500 million range were flat at one filing. Larger cases — those with more than $100 million in liabilities combined — were unchanged quarter over quarter at three filings in both Q4 2025 and Q1 2026.
Read the full report here.
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