Nursing homes closing

Amid increasing medical costs, depopulation and a national nursing shortage, hundreds of rural nursing homes are closing, leaving economic losses and care deserts behind, reports Lauren Coleman-Lochner and Martin Z. Braun of Bloomberg. "Across the country, almost 690 nursing homes have shut their doors since 2020, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The American Health Care Association, an industry trade group, expects the number to keep ticking up in the coming years because of a combination of rising labor costs, falling enrollments and government reimbursements that fall far short of paying the bills."