Rural Hospitals – Resources
Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Hospitals.
Availability of Hospital-Based Cancer Services Before and After Rural Hospital Closure, 2008–2017
Explores the effect rural hospital closures have had on rural cancer care. Draws from American Hospital Association data from 2008 to 2017 and explores the differing outcomes hospital closures had on oncology care, radiation services, and cancer screening in rural areas.
Author(s): Whitney E. Zahnd, Peiyin Hung, Sylvia Kewei Shi, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(2), 416-425
Date: 03/2023
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Explores the effect rural hospital closures have had on rural cancer care. Draws from American Hospital Association data from 2008 to 2017 and explores the differing outcomes hospital closures had on oncology care, radiation services, and cancer screening in rural areas.
Author(s): Whitney E. Zahnd, Peiyin Hung, Sylvia Kewei Shi, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(2), 416-425
Date: 03/2023
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Rural Hospitals Face Renewed Financial Challenges, Especially in States That Have Not Expanded Medicaid
Provides an overview of rural hospital finances before the COVID-19 pandemic and compares operating margins in hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid with those that did not expand Medicaid. Describes financial trends during pandemic. Highlights selected policy initiatives intended to support rural hospitals or restructure the rural healthcare delivery system.
Author(s): Zachary Levinson, Jamie Godwin, Scott Hulver
Date: 02/2023
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Provides an overview of rural hospital finances before the COVID-19 pandemic and compares operating margins in hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid with those that did not expand Medicaid. Describes financial trends during pandemic. Highlights selected policy initiatives intended to support rural hospitals or restructure the rural healthcare delivery system.
Author(s): Zachary Levinson, Jamie Godwin, Scott Hulver
Date: 02/2023
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Community Sociodemographics and Rural Hospital Survival Analysis
Policy brief highlights the specific sociodemographic characteristics of rural communities that correlate with hospitals that are in financial distress. Examines the community factors for 985 rural hospitals in financial distress according to the Financial Distress Index from 2010 to 2019.
Author(s): Claudia A. Rhoades, Brian E. Whitacre, Alison F. Davis
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: Center for Economic Analysis of Rural Health
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Policy brief highlights the specific sociodemographic characteristics of rural communities that correlate with hospitals that are in financial distress. Examines the community factors for 985 rural hospitals in financial distress according to the Financial Distress Index from 2010 to 2019.
Author(s): Claudia A. Rhoades, Brian E. Whitacre, Alison F. Davis
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: Center for Economic Analysis of Rural Health
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Changes in Service Offerings Post-System Affiliation in Rural Hospitals
Explores the effects of joining or leaving a regional or national healthcare system on 62 service offerings at rural prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) between 2008 through 2020. Compares services offered at hospitals that joined a system, left a system, were always in a system during the study period, and were never is a system during the study period.
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Explores the effects of joining or leaving a regional or national healthcare system on 62 service offerings at rural prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) between 2008 through 2020. Compares services offered at hospitals that joined a system, left a system, were always in a system during the study period, and were never is a system during the study period.
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Community Sociodemographics and Rural Hospital Survival
Explores differences in specific community-level sociodemographic factors associated with the survival or closure of rural hospitals at risk of financial distress between 2010 and 2019. Examines the relationship between the risk of hospital closure and median family income, unemployment rate, uninsured rate, education, race, and more.
Author(s): Claudia A. Rhoades, Brian E. Whitacre, Alison F. Davis
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 2023(39), 643-655
Date: 2023
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Explores differences in specific community-level sociodemographic factors associated with the survival or closure of rural hospitals at risk of financial distress between 2010 and 2019. Examines the relationship between the risk of hospital closure and median family income, unemployment rate, uninsured rate, education, race, and more.
Author(s): Claudia A. Rhoades, Brian E. Whitacre, Alison F. Davis
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 2023(39), 643-655
Date: 2023
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The Evolution of Hospital Designations and Payment in the U.S.: Implications for Rural Hospitals
Provides a history and overview of Medicare hospital payment polices as well as alternative payment models and their impact on rural facilities. Discusses the context in which rural hospitals serve patients, rural hospital payment provisions and designations, and current federal payment models that impact rural hospitals.
Author(s): Onyinye Oyeka, Clinton MacKinney, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Provides a history and overview of Medicare hospital payment polices as well as alternative payment models and their impact on rural facilities. Discusses the context in which rural hospitals serve patients, rural hospital payment provisions and designations, and current federal payment models that impact rural hospitals.
Author(s): Onyinye Oyeka, Clinton MacKinney, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Federal Support for Financially Distressed Hospitals
Provides an overview of Medicare hospital payments and federal funding opportunities to assist financially distressed hospitals. Includes information on COVID-19 relief funding targeted to rural and safety net hospitals.
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Provides an overview of Medicare hospital payments and federal funding opportunities to assist financially distressed hospitals. Includes information on COVID-19 relief funding targeted to rural and safety net hospitals.
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Factors Associated with Compliance to the Hospital Price Transparency Final Rule: A National Landscape Study
Examines 3,558 short-term acute-care hospitals' compliance with the Hospital Price Transparency Rule, which requires that hospitals publicly post a machine-readable file containing commercial negotiated prices for 300 services. Compares hospital compliance by state and hospital referral region. Describes factors associated with compliance, including health information technology preparedness, profit status, system affiliation, hospital size, and rural location.
Author(s): John Xuefeng Jiang, Daniel Polsky, Jeff Littlejohn, et al.
Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 37(14), 3577–3584
Date: 11/2022
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Examines 3,558 short-term acute-care hospitals' compliance with the Hospital Price Transparency Rule, which requires that hospitals publicly post a machine-readable file containing commercial negotiated prices for 300 services. Compares hospital compliance by state and hospital referral region. Describes factors associated with compliance, including health information technology preparedness, profit status, system affiliation, hospital size, and rural location.
Author(s): John Xuefeng Jiang, Daniel Polsky, Jeff Littlejohn, et al.
Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 37(14), 3577–3584
Date: 11/2022
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Rural Medicare Beneficiaries are Increasingly Likely to Be Admitted to Urban Hospitals
Examines whether the proportion of rural Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries admitted to urban hospitals increased between 2010 and 2018 using data from the Hospital Service Area File (HSAF) and the American Hospital Association (AHA) survey. Explores whether distance to the nearest hospital and system affiliation of the nearest rural hospital were associated with increases in urban hospital admissions from rural ZIP codes.
Author(s): Hannah R. Friedman, George Mark Holmes
Citation: Health Services Research, 57(5), 1029-1034
Date: 10/2022
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Examines whether the proportion of rural Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries admitted to urban hospitals increased between 2010 and 2018 using data from the Hospital Service Area File (HSAF) and the American Hospital Association (AHA) survey. Explores whether distance to the nearest hospital and system affiliation of the nearest rural hospital were associated with increases in urban hospital admissions from rural ZIP codes.
Author(s): Hannah R. Friedman, George Mark Holmes
Citation: Health Services Research, 57(5), 1029-1034
Date: 10/2022
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Factors Predicting Swing Bed Versus Skilled Nursing Facility Use
Examines differences between patients discharged to swing beds versus skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Features statistics on discharge disposition of people from rural Critical Access Hospital (CAH) and Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospitals, characteristics of people discharged to swing beds or SNFs, with breakdowns by rural CAH discharges and rural PPS discharges, and hospitalization type for discharges to swing beds or SNFs. Includes the 10 most common diagnostic categories for discharges to swing beds or SNFs.
Author(s): Tyler Malone, Mark Holmes
Date: 10/2022
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Examines differences between patients discharged to swing beds versus skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Features statistics on discharge disposition of people from rural Critical Access Hospital (CAH) and Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospitals, characteristics of people discharged to swing beds or SNFs, with breakdowns by rural CAH discharges and rural PPS discharges, and hospitalization type for discharges to swing beds or SNFs. Includes the 10 most common diagnostic categories for discharges to swing beds or SNFs.
Author(s): Tyler Malone, Mark Holmes
Date: 10/2022
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Last Updated: 5/19/2025