Freestanding Emergency Departments and Micro-Hospitals:

by Zach Smith

In a recent report by Navigant Consulting, 48% of Mississippi’s rural hospitals were rated as a high financial risk.  The reasons for rural hospital closures in Mississippi, as nationwide, vary as do the possible solutions.  Reasons for closures cited range from insufficient Medicare reimbursement rates to low admission volumes.  Rural hospital closures create a void in geographic areas that force people to seek care elsewhere, extend travel times, and increase mortality for time-sensitive diseases. States have … Read more...