Rural hospital closings

Amid growing number of rural hospitals closing for financial reasons, the federal government believes it has come up with a solution to help slow those closings:  a new provider type called a “Rural Emergency Hospital” that offers struggling facilities roughly $3 million a year in cash. The catch?  To receive the money they must stop providing inpatient services and transfer patients who need such care to other facilities. More than 1700 rural U.S. hospitals will have the option of participating in the program, but while the money may save some hospitals, those hospitals will never be the same.  Doing so [...]