Rural Hospital Closures| TORCH

Texas and much of the nation is in the grips of a rural hospital closure crisis. There are many reasons a hospital may close ranging from declining reimbursement levels, shrinking population, swelling uncompensated care, and increasing operating cost. Yet, our rural communities deserve to have good health care and hospital access. It is a crisis that needs to be addressed by the Texas Legislature and the Congress of the United States.

Texas leads the nation in rural hospital closures.
19 Texas rural hospitals have closed permanently or temporarily since the beginning of 2013.
Nationally, more than 70 rural hospitals have closed in the same timeframe.
Of the 19 closures in Texas (including 1 that closed twice counting as two closures), 10 remain closed, 4 have reopened (some with more limited services), 3 are emergency and outpatient services only with no inpatient care, and 1 is a clinic with no emergency care.
Many more Texas rural hospitals remain highly vulnerable (financial distress, bankruptcy, and on the brink of closure).
The upswing in Texas closures is primarily driven by $50 million a year in Medicare cuts to Texas rural hospitals starting in 2013 (sequestration, loss of outpatient hold harmless, ACA penalties) as well as a $60 million a year underpayment by Texas Medicaid.
The closures are taking an economic toll on Texas as a rural hospital closure – on average – costs 170 jobs and an annual payroll of $22 million.
Closures have a ripple effect in the community reducing sales tax revenue to local government, reducing school student numbers driving down state payments to the local school, and hurting local businesses across the community.
Deaths have occurred the result of closures - the most notable being an 18-month-old infant choking on a grape in Center, Texas who died on August 12, 2013 days after the hospital closed and there wasn’t enough time to get to the nearest open hospital.

Additional information on Texas rural hospital closures:

List of Texas Rural Hospital Closures Since 1965
Map of Recent Texas Rural Hospital Closures
Impact of a Rural Hospital Closure