Anson General Hospital in West-Central Texas was on the brink of closure when Ted Matthews came out of retirement to save it in 2023. The hospital, with a staff updating their resumes and struggling to pay bills, was facing the fate of becoming the twenty-seventh rural hospital in Texas to shut down.
In a desperate attempt to keep the hospital afloat, Anson General applied to become a Rural Emergency Hospital, a new designation created by Congress in 2023. This designation meant that the hospital would receive a fixed monthly payment of over $3 million from the government, instead of being reimbursed for inpatient services. Additionally, Medicare would add 5% to their payments for outpatient services. Thanks to this new funding model, Anson General received monthly checks of around $270,000, which brought the hospital back from the brink of closure.
Despite the success story of Anson General Hospital, only 38 hospitals across the country have taken advantage of this new designation since its inception in 2023, which is fewer than what researchers had predicted. Many of these hospitals, like Anson General, felt they had no other choice but to apply for this designation in order to survive.
The implementation of Rural Emergency Hospitals has been crucial in keeping rural healthcare facilities operational and providing essential services to underserved communities. The success of Anson General Hospital serves as a beacon of hope for other struggling rural hospitals, showcasing that there are viable solutions to keep these vital institutions running.
As rural hospitals continue to face financial challenges and the threat of closure, it is essential for policymakers and healthcare leaders to explore innovative solutions like the Rural Emergency Hospital designation to ensure access to healthcare for residents in rural areas. By providing stable funding and support to these hospitals, we can preserve essential healthcare services for communities that rely on them.
