Health care bankruptcies dropped in 2025—21% year-over-year from 2024, according to a recent analysis, Healthcare Restructuring: Trends And Outlook. But bankruptcies in the senior care sector and the hospital sector actually rose. The authors cite the primary drivers for these bankruptcies as Medicaid cuts, the move away from institutional care, pressure from payers, and the rising costs of both labor and supplies.

But not all financial distress is the same. The analysis finds that non-profit hospital financial stability is “trifurcated”—20% of hospitals with strong balance sheets are located in growing markets, the middle 65% are financially stagnant, and the bottom 15% are deteriorating.

The questions that come to mind are how did that bottom 15% go…