47 Rural Kansas Hospitals at Immediate Risk of Closing

Over 500 rural hospitals – more than one-fourth of the rural hospitals in the country – were at immediate risk of closure even before the coronavirus pandemic be- cause of continuing financial losses and lack of financial reserves to sustain operations. These hospitals had:

Persistent Financial Losses: The hospitals had a cumulative negative total margin over the most recent 3-year period for which financial data were available; and
Low or Non-Existent Financial Reserves: The hospi- tals either (a) had total liabilities exceeding all assets other than buildings and equipment, or (b) had assets greater than liabilities, but only by enough to sustain continued losses for at most 2 years.

In Kansas, 47 rural hospitals at at immediate risk of closing – more than any other state in the nation – and 29 are at high risk of closing.