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Rural hospitals face growing financial pressures, AHA warns

A photo of a medical clinic set up in a school gym with a woman and a baby stroller in the foreground and a man getting his eyes checked in the background.
Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

AHA report says reimbursement gaps, workforce shortages, and policy changes are intensifying financial strain on rural hospitals.

Rural hospitals that serve more than 46 million Americans are confronting escalating financial and operational challenges that could lead to service reductions and closures, according to a new report from the American Hospital Association.

Rural hospitals are often the sole source of in-person care in their communities, providing emergency, inpatient, obstetric,

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