Offering a government insurance program reimbursing at Medicare rates as a public option on the health insurance exchanges could place as many as 55% of rural hospitals, or 1,037 hospitals across 46 states, at high risk of closure, according to an analysis released today by Navigant Consulting Inc. The authors estimate that 28% of rural hospitals would be at high risk of closure if only uninsured and current individual market participants shifted to the public option, and that more than half of rural hospitals would face high risk of closure if employers shifted 25% to 55% of their covered workers from commercial coverage to the public option. “To keep hospitals whole from the financial consequences of any of these scenarios, Medicare would have to increase hospital payment levels for a public option between 40% and 60% above present Medicare rates, costing between $4 billion and $25 billion annually (depending on the severity of the employer shift),” they said.

Related News Articles

Headline
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Aug. 21 announced the creation of a Healthcare Advisory…
Headline
A JAMA study published Aug. 18 found that plan design changes by Medicare Part D insurers, particularly for Medicare Advantage plans, following passage of the…
Headline
Applications for the 2026 AHA Rural Hospital Excellence in Innovation Award close Aug. 29 at 1 p.m. ET. The award honors rural hospitals leading the way in…
Headline
The Health Resources and Services Administration has awarded more than $15 million in grants to 58 rural health organizations for four-year projects as part of…
Headline
The AHA Aug. 11 urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to prioritize payments to hospitals from the Rural Health Transformation Program. The…
Headline
The Senate Appropriations Committee July 31 advanced the fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services,…