It’s a headline Alabama policymakers, taxpayers, medical professionals, and patients know well: The state’s rural hospitals are in financial crisis.
The causes have been documented for more than 15 years — rising and fixed costs amid low patient volume, fewer doctors and nurses in remote regions, and low Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates compared to private insurers.
But little public blame has focused on local political disputes, which experts say can have as much, if not more, impact on the future of a community’s largest economic center…