Chance Walters

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@brillaas Static

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@brillaas Meta

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@AlfieJCarter Skill

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@marcuslemonis People. Process. Product.

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@scaling_shields Opus

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@scaling_shields Leads

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@easytoolshq @IAmPascio Book

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@easytoolshq @reachvaldo Skool

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@paolo_scales B2B

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

The latest Chartis 2026 Rural Health State of the State report is worth everyone in healthcare policy taking a moment to read.

The numbers are sobering.

More than 40% of rural hospitals are operating in the red, and 417 rural facilities are now considered vulnerable to closure. Since 2010, more than 200 rural hospitals have closed or converted to models without inpatient care, and hundreds more have eliminated essential services like obstetrics, general surgery, and chemotherapy.

When services disappear in rural communities, they rarely come back. What begins as the loss of an OB unit or oncology service often becomes a cascading reduction in access to care for entire regions.

Reports like this highlight an important reality: there is no single policy fix for the challenges rural hospitals face. Workforce shortages, reimbursement pressures, demographic shifts, and rising costs have all combined to create a fragile rural health safety net.

But that doesn’t mean we should ignore opportunities to provide near-term relief while broader solutions are debated.

One effort we are currently working on is encouraging CMS to expand the Medicare MGCRB “35-mile rule” to 50 miles for wage index reclassification. The current rule dates back to 1990, long before today’s commuting patterns and regional healthcare labor markets took shape.

Updating it would better align Medicare reimbursement with how healthcare professionals actually move within regional labor markets today.

Will this solve the rural hospital crisis? Of course not.

But policies like this could act as a band-aid while we work toward larger statutory reforms, helping stabilize some hospitals that are currently operating on the edge.

If you work in rural healthcare, policy, or hospital leadership, the Chartis report is well worth the read:

https://t.co/gM6t7xt5l7

Rural healthcare is reaching a crossroads, and the policy decisions made in the next few years will shape access to care for millions of Americans living outside our major metropolitan areas.

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@reachvaldo Art

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@BKRBusinessMin Spot on. Let’s start working on solutions.

It won’t be easy and you can’t please everyone, but people like yourself and @DutchRojas are leading the charge.

We can start solving the problems that exist in healthcare and push Congress, etc. to make changes.

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

I was in D.C. last week working on Medicare reform for rural hospitals throughout the country.

In every meeting we had with members of Congress and staffers, someone, inevitably, asked if we had spoken with anyone from AHA.

The collective eyeroll and sigh that filled the room was both sad and humorous.

"All they ever do is tell you to contact your state's association."

The AHA is a joke...

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@BKRBusinessMin @DutchRojas Looking forward to listening!

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@reachvaldo S

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@drantbradley We are working toward Medicare reform that will support rural hospitals and increase wages for employees. Technology is great, but it cannot replace human interaction and care. This is crucial for both urban and rural hospitals.

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@saguppa Clay

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@alevine014 Great work, Alan.

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@Mike_Scully_ AI

[Chance Walters @ChanceDrayden]

@jasoncfox Framework