Overview
- A JAMA research letter published Oct. 8, 2026 reports that between 2010 and 2025 there were 432 hospital closures and 216 openings, producing a net loss of about 216 hospitals and more than 24,000 beds.
- Researchers found closures rose roughly 4% year over year while openings declined about 3% year over year, with similar closure rates in urban and rural hospitals.
- Hospitals that shut were disproportionately small, for-profit, or safety-net institutions serving counties with high social vulnerability, and about 73% of closed hospitals ended all inpatient services.
- Closures were concentrated in the Midwest and the South and were more common in states that did not expand Medicaid; new hospitals during the period were mostly urban, for-profit, and small, leaving rural areas less likely to gain capacity.
- The study’s findings suggest that the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s $50 billion in rural grants may not address the full problem and that broader financial and Medicaid-policy measures will be needed to protect access to care.