State’s rural hospitals risk shutdown as relief ends
Facilities face worker shortages, rising costs
Texas hasn’t seen a hospital close since 2020, a much-needed period of relief after the previous decade of closures that were predominantly seen in rural communities.
That could change soon: A new report from health care consulting agency Kaufman Hall that was made public Wednesday shows that nearly one of every 10 Texas hospitals are now at risk of closure — twice as many as before the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020.
“Ultimately, our concern is this will impact patient care,” said John Hawkins, president of the Texas Hospital Association.
The report highlights the pandemic’s striking toll on hospitals across the state as they face growing strain from surges in respiratory illness, workforce shortages and rising costs of medication, medical supplies and labor. This has caused hospital expenses to increase greatly — the total expenses for Texas hospitals this year are $33.2 billion more than before the pandemic.
While the risk is greater for all Texas hospitals, it’s higher for rural hospitals than for urban facilities — a 26 percent risk of closing compared with a 5 percent risk. Hawkins said there is concern about the challenges rural hospitals could face in the near future.
Health experts have long credited support from the federal spending spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic for lessening the closure risk in 2020 and 2021. But those funds are expiring soon, leaving hospitals without that financial safety net. Operating margings are in negative territory for nearly half of all Texas hospitals because revenue is not covering the cost of pa
tient care.
“We know, as that federal funding runs out, we’ve created a fiscal cliff,” Hawkins said. “These operating challenges are going to continue
to be real for rural hospitals.”
Hawkins explained that hospitals are already cutting service lines and closing access points to balance the finances, and that could continue to happen even if a hospital doesn’t close entirely. The community a hospital
serves would be impacted by either scenario, as it would lead to a loss in the workforce.
“Hospitals are pretty typically one of the largest employers in a community, particularly small areas,” Hawkins said. “So as they constrain services and can’t
fill those positions, it has a ripple impact on the economy.”