Future Financial Viability of Rural Hospitals

Policymakers are concerned that some rural hospitals have suffered significant losses under the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997 and that access to inpatient and emergency care may be at risk. This article projects that the median total profit margin for rural hospitals will fall from 4 percent in 1997 to between 2.5 and 3.7 percent after the BBA, Balanced Budget Refinement Act (BBRA) of 1999, and Benefits Improvement and Protection Act (BIPA) of 2000 are fully implemented in 2004. The Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Program is expected to prevent reductions in inpatient and outpatient prospective payments from causing an increase in rural hospital closures.