Rural funds roll out amid small hospital paperwork challenges
The first rounds of federal funding for rural healthcare improvement are rolling from the federal government to the states to distribute to their hospitals and other awardees. For some independent rural hospitals, the lack of administrative staff created paperwork obstacles to those funds. The first $10 billion of a five-year, $50 billion total in grants…
Why rural hospital finances improved in 2025
Although rural hospitals remain in financially precarious positions, their overall finances improved in 2025. The reasons for this enhancement likely vary by market. The national median operating margin for rural hospitals has improved over the last three years: from -0.1% in 2023, to 1.0% in 2024 and 2.0% in 2025, according to the annual Chartis…
Some states to focus on rural hospital solvency
Some of the states that recently received a share of $50 billion in federal rural health funding explicitly aim to use some of it to bolster the finances of struggling rural hospitals. The funding comes through the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), which intended to help rural healthcare providers succeed amid the projected cutbacks in…
Rural hospitals face significant payment disparities compared to urban hospitals
Rural hospitals are reimbursed 20% less than urban hospitals, with the gap widening as hospitals become more rural, according to a new analysis of price transparency data from over 5,000 U.S. hospitals.
More rural hospitals adopt critical access status to boost finances
Rural hospitals are converting to critical access hospital status to reduce their inpatient beds and become eligible for the 340B discount drug program, which is helping some facilities improve their financial operations.