Alan Goforth is a freelance writer in suburban Kansas City. In addition to freelancing for several publications, he has written a dozen books about sports and other topics.
It costs more to deliver health care in small rural communities than in urban areas, and many health insurance plans do not pay enough to cover these costs.
"A 1% increase in health care prices caused by a hospital merger lowers both payroll and the number of employees at firms outside the health sector by approximately 0.4%," according to the study.