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September 25, 2026
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Rural hospitals have long been the primary, if not sole, source of care for millions of Americans in underserved communities, and the financial ground beneath them is shifting fast. The OBBBA is projected to cut federal Medicaid spending in rural areas by $137 billion over the next decade, and the expiration of ACA enhanced premium tax credits is projected to cost rural hospitals $2.2 billion in uncompensated care in 2026 alone. These changes land on institutions already at the margin: the median rural hospital operating margin is just 1%, and nearly 44% reported negative operating margins in 2023.
To maintain services and adopt needed technologies, financially pressured rural hospitals are increasingly turning to mergers, acquisitions, affiliations, and designation conversions, each carrying real legal, regulatory, and competitive consequences. These transactions continue to face intensive federal and state antitrust scrutiny, and the FTC's willingness to allow failing-firm mergers in rural healthcare remains untested in the current enforcement climate.
Join Amanda Wait and Kristy Piccinini from FTI Consulting for a practical discussion of rural hospital financial distress, its impact on access and care delivery, the legal landscape around potential solutions, and what attorneys advising hospitals, health systems, investors, and regulators need to know now.
This webinar is eligible for 1 CLE credit, offered by PLI. Total cost to attend is $329.00
