Rural Hospital Closures: Number & Characteristics Of Affected Hospitals & Contributing Factors

The report was released on September 28, 2018, by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The researchers analyzed federal data about hospitals. The report has a dual focus. It describes how the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) supports and monitors rural hospitals' financial viability and rural residents' access to hospital services. It presents the number and characteristics of rural hospitals that have closed in recent years and what is known about the factors that have contributed to those closures . . .