Rural areas fear spread of virus as more hospitals close

spread across the United States, workers at the lone hospital in one Alabama county turned off beeping monitors for good and padlocked the doors, making it one of the latest in a string of nearly 200 rural hospitals to close nationwide.

The reasons for the closures vary, but experts and administrators cite factors including declining rural populations, rising medical costs, insufficient Medicare reimbursements, large numbers of uninsured patients, state decisions against Medicaid expansion and mismanagement. About 60% of the counties and towns that have lost hospitals are in the South, an analysis by the Sheps Center showed.

About 15% of the U.S. population, or more than 46 million people, lives in rural areas, according to the Census Bureau. They are more likely than urban dwellers to die from chronic respiratory illnesses, heart disease and other problems that put people more at risk for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The pandemic could actually hasten more rural hospital closures, said Michael Topchik of the Maine-based Charter Center for Rural Health. He co-authored a study released in February that found about 450 rural hospitals were vulnerable to shutting down.

Thanks ACA.

Maybe if they weren't forced to 'provide services' for illegals, they would still be in business? Why wasn't this mentioned in the article?

At last count, 13.7 million Americans, or 4% of the population, live in medically underserved areas, defined as areas with a shortage of health care services for residents.

Obamacare cured this.

The world order hates rural living. Hive life and hive mind is all they want obedient cattle to be. F hospitals and F modern medicine. Homeopathy and natural is the only way!

yeah, 13 hospitals in NYC alone! Isn't the incompetence of the Crooked DNC the hidden agenda?

Strange that not one Journalist in NYC talk about the many Hospitals recently closed in the 5 Boroughs for Condo Developments CONVID19

Local government should temporarily reopen them immediately‼️✊🏼😷

Neocapitalismo to blame, the ultra rich profit, the poor pay.

oh, central planning, you work so well

Well done you neoliberal bastards.

The Leftist Elite has made fun of rural communities for the last three years...save your faux concern.

Well, the social distancing may help them to keep the virus in town, not in their big open spaces.

Maybe use those for isolation units?

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