Report shows 45 rural hospitals at risk of closing in Oklahoma
Tue, August 11, 2026 at 3:57 PM
UpdatedTue, August 11, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Report shows 45 rural hospitals at risk of closing in Oklahoma. (KOKH)
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) —The future of <a href="https://healthylife7.com/hospital-mergers-linked-to-higher-healthcare-costs/” title=”Hospital mergers linked to higher healthcare costs”>healthcare in some rural communities is becoming increasingly uncertain
A report from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform in July finds 700 rural hospitals nationwide are at risk of closing
The report shows 45 rural hospitals are at risk of closing in Oklahoma, which is the third most in the nation behind Texas and Kansas. The report says the hospitals face the risk of closing due to serious financial problems
“Our rural hospitals are dealing with a number of payer challenges,” said Rich Rasmussen, President and CEO of the Oklahoma Hospital Association
18 hospitals in the Sooner State are at risk of immediate closure, according to the report
“I mean, first of all, we have the fact that Medicare pays a critical access hospital as an example, less than the cost to provide care. Then we add to it the low Medicaid rates and then we add to it the challenges with Medicare Advantage plans, which tend to delay payment or deny care for rural hospitals. And then lastly, we have the biggest challenge that I think is going to hit every rural hospital in America and that’s the Medicaid cuts that Congress has approved,” Rasmussen said
It would cost about $4 billion each year to increase payments to levels that would prevent closures of the at-risk hospitals, according to the report
“If you look at hospitals in the state of Oklahoma, we have more than 90 hospitals that lose money on providing care to patients,” Rasmussen told FOX 25. “The only way they make up for that loss are in the supplemental Medicaid payments. These supplemental payments are the payments that Congress has cut.”
Rasmussen explained the impacts of the closure of a rural hospital can be far reaching, especially for patients
“If you don’t have healthcare and you don’t have good education, it’s very difficult to recruit an organization, an employer to your community. So issue one, you would immediately see an impact on that community for its ability to continue to grow and to prosper. And then secondly, also for our urban communities, as we lose providers in the rural communities, it places that much more stress on our urban providers to be able to pick up the slack for them,” he said
To view the full report, click here
