As the coronavirus pandemic spreads in rural America, two West Virginia communities are dealing with the loss of their local hospitals.
as of Monday, adding to the concern that rural areas may be on the verge of a surge.
“If someone gets ill and needs to be admitted, it’s a big problem if they have to go to a hospital in a neighboring state or 30 minutes away to another facility,” said C. Donovan “Dino” Beckett, a family physician and CEO of a nonprofit clinic that’sMy fear is this is going to roll over us after everybody is so emotionally, physically and mentally drained that no one will pay attention.
Before the pandemic, we had almost half of rural hospitals operating at a financial loss, just barely hanging on.West Virginia expanded Medicaid in 2014, which may have helped it avoid hospital closures there until this year. Tennessee, on the other hand, did not expand Medicaid and has seen 13 hospitals close since 2010. Another is set to close next week.
Now, 2020 is on pace to set a new record, with eight closures as of early April. Many hospitals halted nonemergency procedures in March to limit exposure for staff and patients, which has eviscerated income that many rural hospitals received for routine procedures. That’s amplified the financial distress among health care providers.
Medicaid may provide more of a short-term solution, at least for ensuring that health care providers receive compensation for services.
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