Rural Health

Federal officials and industry leaders outlined key policy shifts ahead for telehealth during the American Telemedicine Association EDGE 2025 Policy Conference Dec. 10, emphasizing that virtual care’s long-term viability hinges on stable rules around licensure, payment, fraud and AI governance.…

From HCA adding hospitals in New Hampshire and Florida to Sanford Health and Marshfield Clinic Health System finalizing their 56-hospital merger, here are 39 hospital mergers and acquisitions completed in 2025: 1. Terre Haute-based Union Hospital and Terre Haute Regional…

As merger and acquisition activity picks up post-pandemic, dozens of large health systems are expanding their footprints — adding hospitals, building regional dominance and solidifying national reach. Here are 30 large health systems that have grown in quarters or are…

From ChristianaCare and Virtua Health ending merger talks to a Florida State University and the city of Tallahassee reaching an agreement to launch an academic medical center, here are four hospital M&A deals that Becker’s reported during the week of…

With enhanced ACA subsidies set to expire Dec. 31 and a proposed two-year extension still in limbo, health system executives are bracing for a wave of financial, operational and access-related challenges, particularly among vulnerable patient populations. The delayed proposal, dubbed…

As hospitals across the U.S. continue to grapple with financial challenges, cuts and even closures, the toll on rural communities has also increased. In 2025 alone, Becker’s has reported on 21 hospital closures. The effects of these closures can move…

New visa rules and fees have disrupted international recruiting at healthcare systems across the nation this fall, leaving many worried about long-term effects on existing staff shortages. Foreign clinicians typically enter the U.S. on two types of work visas: H-1B…

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have outlined an ambitious vision for transforming rural healthcare through the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program. Coming at a time when more than 300 rural hospitals are at risk of closure1…

Emporia, Kan.-based Newman Regional Health plans to launch a two-year telehealth initiative backed by a $485,000 grant. The Telehealth for Rural Health Equity Initiative is designed to expand telehealth services across the hospital’s primary care clinics and emergency department, according…

For patients scattered across Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health’s rural footprint, telemedicine has become embedded in everyday care. But as pandemic-era telehealth policies face an uncertain future in Washington, Sanford leaders say the stakes are significant for the communities they…