A report by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform finds 61 percent of Iowa’s rural hospitals no longer deliver babies. The report analyzed federal data and also found that of the 36 rural hospitals still providing the care, 58% reported losing money on the service. The CEO of the non-profit, Harold Miller, says insurance companies and Medicaid need to reimburse hospitals more for the cost of births.
Miller says it’s really hard to reopen the birthing units once they close.
Miller says policymakers also need to find ways to recruit and train more people to work in rural health care.
