Unprofitable rural hospitals often merge with health systems, helping them stay open but also increasing the likelihood of price hikes for services.
Between 2010 and 2018, 17% of unprofitable rural hospitals merged with another organization while 7% closed, according to an analysis of data from 325 unprofitable hospitals. Of the financially unstable hospitals that didn’t close or consolidate, about half became profitable over that span, Modern Healthcare reports, citing a study published in Health Affairs. Read more.
