Beyond the Political Firestorm Over Rural Hospitals: A Look at Challenges, and Unresolved Questions

In January, 2014, the chair of the State House Health and Human Services Committee stirred a controversy with her remarks about struggling rural hospitals.  Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta) told WABE’s Jonathan Shapiro that some of those hospitals might need to close.  But, whatever one thinks about whether those hospitals should close, there’s the question of whether they might have to, unless their funding picture changes.  For a look at that, WABE’s Denis O’Hayer spoke with Jason Hockenberry, an assistant professor at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.