From increased competition to reimbursement landscape challenges, many factors lead hospitals and health systems to file for bankruptcy.
Here are five hospitals and health systems that have filed for bankruptcy or announced plans to file for bankruptcy since November, beginning with the most recent.
1. The public trust that operates Atoka (Okla.) County Medical Center filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy Jan. 10. The critical access hospital is about $16 million in debt.
2. North Philadelphia Health System filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Dec. 30 after years of financial troubles. NPHS currently operates two facilities in Philadelphia: Girard Medical Center, a 168-bed psychiatric hospital, and Goldman Clinic, a substance abuse treatment center.
3. Marshalltown-based Central Iowa Healthcare, which includes a 49-bed acute care hospital, an outpatient center and four primary care clinics, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Dec. 20. As part of its bankruptcy filing, CIH submitted a plan to sell the bulk of it assets to UnityPoint Health-Waterloo (Iowa), an affiliate of West Des Moines, Iowa-based UnityPoint Health.
4. Gainesville-based North Texas Medical Center's board decided in December to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. Hospital officials expect to file the bankruptcy petition in the next few months.
5. Gulf Coast Medical Center in Wharton, Texas, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Nov. 21. The hospital significantly scaled back services in 2016 and closed in late November.
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