Research Alert: October 1, 2020

A Comparison of Rural and Urban Specialty Hospitals

Specialty hospitals are important providers in both urban and rural areas. However, they are not evenly distributed across these areas. This study addresses three types of specialty hospitals: long-term acute care hospitals, inpatient psychiatric facilities, and inpatient rehabilitation facilities. This brief compares urban and rural specialty hospitals by ownership, location, inpatient beds, percent of inpatient days for rural residents, and percent of inpatient days for Medicare beneficiaries. This study also looked at operating expenses, Medicaid days, and profitability.

Additional Resources of Interest:

• More information about the Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
• More information from the Rural Health Information Hub's topic guides: Hospitals, Mental Health, Rural Health Policy