2018-23 Profitability of Rural Hospitals by With and Without Rural Health Clinics and Long-Term Care
Link
Date
06/2024
Description
This study compares profitability of rural hospitals that provide and do not provide long-term care, and that operate and do not operate rural health clinics. The study includes two years before COVID-19 (2018-19, 2019-20) and three years after COVID-19 (2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23), and takes into account Public Health Emergency funds received during the pandemic.
Key Findings:
- Rural hospitals that did not provide long-term care had a higher median total margin than those that provided long-term care in every period except 2018-19. Median profitability of rural hospitals that provided and did not provide long-term care increased over the first four time periods, but there was a large decrease in profitability of both in 2022-23.
- Rural hospitals that did not operate rural health clinics had a higher median total margin than those that operated rural health clinics in the first three periods, but a lower total margin in the last two periods. Median profitability of rural hospitals that operated and did not operate rural health clinics increased over the four periods, but there was a large decrease in profitability of both in 2022-23.
- Profitability of rural hospitals in 2020-21 and 2021-22 was influenced by Public Health Emergency funding distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Center
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
Authors
Sruthi Srinivasan, Kristie Thompson, George Pink