An estimated 100 rural hospitals have shuttered since 2010, and the situation is likely to get worse, according to Dave Mosley, managing director of global professional services firm Navigant.
Mr. Mosley cited a recent Navigant study concerning the fate of rural hospitals for a Feb. 21 op-ed for STAT News. The study states 21 percent of rural hospitals nationwide are at high risk of imminent closure, and more than double that percentage for rural hospitals in states like Alabama, Mississippi and Alaska.
However, Mr. Mosley argued that federal lawmakers could step in to help prevent more hospitals from closing. A bipartisan bill introduced in 2017, called the Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act, aimed to help rural hospitals by allowing them to sidestep a regulation that mandates they maintain a certain number of inpatient beds and an emergency room in order to be classified as critical access hospitals.
Under the new classification, rural hospitals would not be forced to maintain a certain number of beds and instead would have the operational flexibility to move patients to larger hospitals while focusing on outpatient services.
"The REACH Act doesn't solve all problems for rural hospitals. Nor does it offer the only workable solution — better reimbursement around telehealth could help promote partnerships between rural hospitals and their closest academic health systems. But what does distinguish this piece of legislation is the simple fact of its existence," Mr. Mosley wrote. "The REACH Act acknowledges the train wreck that could and should have been avoided years ago, and now can no longer be ignored."
To access the full op-ed, click here.