New FMT Brief: Characteristics of Communities Affected by Critical Access Hospital Mergers

September 30, 2024

New FMT Brief: Characteristics of Communities Affected by Critical Access Hospital Mergers

The Flex Monitoring Team (FMT) has released a new policy brief, Characteristics Affected by Critical Access Hospital Mergers.

This brief provides comparative statistics on the demographic, socioeconomic, health status, and geographic characteristics of communities served by Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) by their merger status.

Findings from this study will help inform hospital leaders, State Flex Programs, and policymakers about community characteristics that may be associated with CAH mergers, and about the rural populations that are affected by CAH mergers.

Key findings from this brief include:

  • Between 2010 and 2022, CAHs were the targets of 128 mergers, meaning a health care entity acquired or merged them under a single owner.
  • CAH mergers were unevenly distributed across the U.S. Census regions, largely concentrated in the Midwest and the South.
  • Communities where CAHs merged had:
    • Lower rates of insurance for both adults and children
    • Lower median income inequality
    • Higher unemployment rates compared with counties without CAH mergers

Click Here to View Policy Brief