The federal Rural Health Transformation Program will provide $50 billion to states from 2026 through 2030. Its goal is to improve access to care in rural communities. For hospitals struggling to fill jobs, the funding could help. But I know…
Rural Health
States had obligated about $4 billion of nearly $10 billion in first-year Rural Health Transformation Program funds as of July 31, according to a CMS report based on state-reported data. The 105-page report covers Dec. 29, 2025, through July 31,…
Fifty-seven hospitals across 22 states have converted to rural emergency facilities since the law that created the designation took effect in January 2023, according to data from CMS. Here are the hospitals that have converted to rural emergency status, by…
Between 2010 and 2025, U.S. hospitals shut down at comparable rates whether they were in urban or rural areas, according to a research letter published Oct. 8 in JAMA Network. Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health…
The wave of maternity service closures has shown no signs of slowing down in 2026. As hospitals continue to grapple with persistent financial pressures, staffing shortages and falling birth rates, more facilities weigh ending labor and delivery services. The closures…
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Rural hospitals are finding ways to tie themselves to larger systems in 2026 without surrendering ownership. Since July, at least three critical access hospitals have entered or approved management or affiliation agreements with larger systems. In each, Lakeland Community Hospital…
States are earmarking specific slices of their Rural Health Transformation Program dollars for technology upgrades, service expansions and workforce pipeline development. CMS has announced 31 such efforts since August. Each state’s full fiscal year 2026 award was set in December…
After a brief post-pandemic lull, hospital consolidation is accelerating again, with large health systems expanding across state lines, absorbing independent hospitals and reshaping regional care markets. From portfolio resets and strategic exits to cross-market mergers and billion-dollar investments, these moves…
As rural and regional hospitals head into 2027, their leaders are moving away from volume as the main path to revenue. Instead, many are focused on keeping care close to home, reducing outmigration and capturing the revenue they have already…
Most rural physician vacancies are identified late and never formally priced, according to a survey of rural healthcare administrators and clinicians from Jackson Physician Search, LocumTenens.com and MGMA. Three-quarters of administrators surveyed reported a consequential physician vacancy in the past…