A study published by Avalere and the Physicians Advocacy Institute found that rural areas are quickly losing independent physicians and corporatization in healthcare continues to rise.
The study analyzed 52,600 practicing physicians across 30,000 medical practices between Jan. 1, 2019, and Jan. 1, 2024.
Here are six takeaways from the study:
1. Rural areas lost nearly 2,500 physicians during the study period, representing a 5% loss of all practicing physicians in rural areas.
2. Nearly 3,300 rural medical practices closed during this time.
3. Patients in rural areas had access to 11% fewer medical practices overall as of January 2024.
4. The number of independent physicians declined by 43% during the study period, from 21,956 in 2019 to 12,467 in 2024.
5. More than 40% of independent medical practices closed or were acquired by hospitals, health systems and other corporate entities, including payer-affiliated healthcare groups and private equity.
6. Corporate entities nearly doubled ownership of practices in rural areas and employed 57% more physicians than in 2019.
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