Identifies federal and state programs that have assisted or could assist rural hospitals in meeting their capital needs; assesses whether rural hospital borrowers have difficulty in meeting their capital needs under existing grant, loan, and mortgage insurance programs; and discusses potential options for improving access to capital for rural hospitals. Offers regulatory, programmatic, and policy recommendations to improve the HUD 242 Program and the USDA Community Facilities Program-two federal programs that have been able to assist some of the less creditworthy hospitals over the last three decades.