More than 60 rural hospitals have closed since 2010 and another 673 rural hospitals across the nation are vulnerable to closure, according to a report from iVantage Health Analytics, a firm that compiles a hospital strength index that is based on data about financial stability, patients and quality indicators.
Here are five things to know about the financial struggles many rural hospitals are facing, according to iVantage.
1. The 673 rural hospitals vulnerable to shutting down are located across 42 states.
2. Southern states have especially high rates of vulnerability when compared to their total number of rural facilities. States in this region with high rates of vulnerability include Mississippi (79 percent), Louisiana (58 percent) and Georgia (53 percent).
3. Sixty-three percent of the hospitals vulnerable to closure are located in states that have not expanded Medicaid.
4. Sixty-eight percent of the hospitals vulnerable to closure are critical access hospitals.
5. If the 673 vulnerable hospitals were to shut down, 99,000 healthcare jobs in rural communities would be lost, and it would result in an estimated $277 billion loss to the GDP.
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