Work is underway to help rural hospitals in Alabama stay afloat. At least fifteen hospitals in rural Alabama are in danger of shutting down. That’s according to the Alabama Hospital Association. The organization also says more than half of hospitals statewide are categorized as “operating in the red.” This means the hospital expenses are rising faster than their revenue. The A-H-A says the COVID-19 pandemic had the largest negative impact on the facilities. Alabama hospitals have lost one and a half billion dollars since 2020. Donald Williamson is the President of the Alabama Hospital Association. He says a plan for relief is in play.
“What we have to do is buy time with a bridge, with some ARPA founds, to help hospitals now in this crisis while seeking a longer help solution that looks at fixing the underlying problems that challenge the Alabama healthcare system,” said Williamson.
Williamson says the A-H-A using relief funding is only a short-term solution. And healthcare leaders are also asking the Alabama Legislature for additional money for hospitals to make payroll and avoid closures.
The A-H-A says the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic had the largest negative impact on the facilities. Williamson says state hospitals have lost billions of dollars because of the pandemic.
“So, over the three years of the COVID pandemic, Alabama hospitals, even with the federal subsidies, have loss $1.5 billion,” he said. “Without the federal subsidies, they would have loss $2.4 billion. “
Alabama Public Radio won the 50th anniversary Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for Radio following a yearlong investigation into rural health in the state. Part of that focus was on the financial challenges facing rural hospitals. Click below to hear that documentary again.