Leaders say federal help needed as some Texas rural hospitals remain on 'brink of closure'

AUSTIN — The financial troubles Texas rural hospitals have experienced during the past four years may not be over after all.

Two months after the Texas Legislature restored most of the Medicaid funding cuts made in the 2011 session — when lawmakers tackled a $27 billion shortfall — the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals says “rural hospitals remain in financial distress and more could be on the brink of closure.”

“As part of a national trend, many Texas rural hospitals continue to struggle, which is the result of cuts in Medicare and Medicaid payments over the past four years,” the organization, commonly known for its acronym, TORCH, said in a statement. “Those cuts are resulting in an annual loss of revenue totaling almost $100 million for Texas’ 171 rural hospitals.”

The $209 billion state budget for the next two fiscal years included $58 million in new money for Medicaid payments to rural hospitals, which is about $17 million below what the Legislature cut four years ago.

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