The United States lost a net 216 hospitals and more than 24,000 beds between 2010 and 2025, according to a new research letter published in JAMA. Hospitals closed at twice the rate they opened, and closure rates in cities were similar to those in rural areas.
Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that 432 hospitals closed over the period while 216 opened. Closures were more common among smaller, for-profit and safety-net hospitals, which treat large numbers of low-income and uninsured patients.
