Rural hospitals with a smaller footprint have less room to negotiate rates with managed care companies and are often hobbled by more older and poorer patients. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Industry M&A may be no savior as the pace of hospital closures, particularly in hard-to-reach rural areas, seems poised to accelerate.
Hospitals have been closing at a rate of about 30 a year, according to the American Hospital Association, and patients living far from major cities may be left with even fewer hospital choices as insurers push them toward online providers like Teladoc Inc. and clinics such as CVS Health Corp's MinuteClinic.
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