Stemming the closure rate of rural hospitals may depend in part on the financial support provided by hospital tax districts.
Editor's Note: This article originally posted on Community Hospital Corporation's website.
This can be difficult to swallow for many who are reflexively against higher taxes. However, voters may come around when the case is made that a modest property- or sales-tax levy or hike could provide the necessary financial support to keep their hospital open and sustainable for their community.
Hospital Tax Districts Fill a Funding Gap
Tax districts help ensure the survival of hospitals that may be at risk of closing without taxpayer support. Taxes help plug financial gaps and cover the cost of treating uninsured or indigent patients.
Community and rural hospitals with no or insufficient tax support are also squeezed by Medicare and Medicaid cuts as well as uncompensated care. These financial hardships mean many have been forced to scale back services, close units or close altogether. That delays medical care and results in worse outcomes for people in those communities.
A 2017 federal study indicates that rural Americans already are at higher risk, and long travel times to trauma centers after a local hospital closes worsens the problem. Tax support could prevent this from happening—and might even mean the difference between life and death for some patients. Click here to continue>>
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