Rural hospitals and those that treat patients regardless of their ability to pay have been held back by federal regulations that limit their access to funding for critical infrastructure projects, according to a recent policy report. The lack of funding has made it difficult for these hospitals to stay financially viable, leading to deepening health care disparities, particularly for underserved communities.
The report, Structural Determinants of Health: Hospitals’ Unequal Capital Investments Drive Health Inequalities, was co-authored by Rosemary Batt, the Alice Cook Professor of Women and Work at Cornell’s ILR School, and Eileen Appelbaum, co-director of the Center for Economic Policy Research. Batt and Appelbaum argue that U.S. policymakers must reevaluate the way government funding is distributed to health care facilities in order to address these inequities.
Long-standing federal policies perpetuate disparities
The authors point to several federal policies, including the Hill-Burton Act of 1946 and the Medicare and Medicaid Act of 1965, which have favored large nonprofit hospitals while leaving smaller, rural, and low-income hospitals at a disadvantage. These laws have created a system where hospitals in wealthier areas have better access to capital, allowing them to maintain and upgrade their facilities, while those serving poorer communities struggle to keep pace.
“Hospitals’ ability to raise capital is often a direct result of federal laws that disproportionately benefit large nonprofit health care systems,” said Batt. “This leaves rural hospitals and those serving Black, Indigenous, and immigrant communities unable to maintain up-to-date facilities, putting their patients at risk.”
The report highlights how the uneven distribution of funds has contributed to institutionalized racism in the health care system. Underfunded hospitals in low-income areas, often serving minority populations, suffer from outdated technologies and deteriorating…
Read the full article here
