Kitchie McBride, MHA

06/11/2026

06/11/2026

One of the things I help my clients understand is that choosing a health plan is only part of the equation.

I also encourage them to think about how they will use their coverage and what healthcare costs they may encounter throughout the year.

Premiums are important, but so are deductibles, copays, coinsurance, prescriptions, provider networks, and expected medical needs.

A health plan should fit both your health needs and your budget.

Service Areas
DC MD VA HI TX

06/06/2026

A new report identifies hundreds of rural hospitals across the country that are at risk of closure, including nearly 300 considered at immediate risk of closing within the next two to three years.

Below is the state-by-state list.

Alaska
• 2 hospitals at risk of closing (12%)
• 1 at immediate risk of closing (6%)

Arizona
• 4 hospitals at risk of closing (15%)
• 0 at immediate risk of closing

Arkansas
• 31 hospitals at risk of closing (66%)
• 12 at immediate risk of closing (26%)

California
• 16 hospitals at risk of closing (27%)
• 5 at immediate risk of closing (8%)

Colorado
• 10 hospitals at risk of closing (23%)
• 2 at immediate risk of closing (5%)

Connecticut
• 3 hospitals at risk of closing (75%)
• 2 at immediate risk of closing (50%)

Delaware
• 0 hospitals at risk of closing
• 0 at immediate risk of closing

Florida
• 8 hospitals at risk of closing (36%)
• 3 at immediate risk of closing (14%)

Georgia
• 23 hospitals at risk of closing (32%)
• 12 at immediate risk of closing (16%)

Hawaii
• 8 hospitals at risk of closing (62%)
• 0 at immediate risk of closing

Idaho
• 8 hospitals at risk of closing (30%)
• 1 at immediate risk of closing (4%)

Illinois
• 17 hospitals at risk of closing (22%)
• 8 at immediate risk of closing (10%)

Indiana
• 9 hospitals at risk of closing (16%)
• 8 at immediate risk of closing (15%)

Iowa
• 8 hospitals at risk of closing (9%)
• 2 at immediate risk of closing (2%)

Kansas
• 69 hospitals at risk of closing (69%)
• 28 at immediate risk of closing (28%)

Kentucky
• 14 hospitals at risk of closing (20%)
• 2 at immediate risk of closing (3%)

Louisiana
• 26 hospitals at risk of closing (46%)
• 11 at immediate risk of closing (20%)

Maine
• 10 hospitals at risk of closing (42%)
• 3 at immediate risk of closing (12%)

Maryland
• 0 hospitals at risk of closing
• 0 at immediate risk of closing

Massachusetts
• 1 hospital at risk of closing (14%)
• 0 at immediate risk of closing

Michigan
• 10 hospitals at risk of closing (15%)
• 3 at immediate risk of closing (5%)

Minnesota
• 18 hospitals at risk of closing (19%)
• 4 at immediate risk of closing (4%)

Mississippi
• 34 hospitals at risk of closing (51%)
• 25 at immediate risk of closing (37%)

Missouri
• 28 hospitals at risk of closing (49%)
• 11 at immediate risk of closing (19%)

Montana
• 15 hospitals at risk of closing (29%)
• 3 at immediate risk of closing (6%)

Nebraska
• 5 hospitals at risk of closing (7%)
• 2 at immediate risk of closing (3%)

Nevada
• 4 hospitals at risk of closing (31%)
• 1 at immediate risk of closing (8%)

New Hampshire
• 5 hospitals at risk of closing (28%)
• 1 at immediate risk of closing (6%)

New Jersey
• 0 hospitals at risk of closing
• 0 at immediate risk of closing

New Mexico
• 7 hospitals at risk of closing (26%)
• 2 at immediate risk of closing (7%)

New York
• 24 hospitals at risk of closing (47%)
• 15 at immediate risk of closing (29%)

North Carolina
• 8 hospitals at risk of closing (14%)
• 5 at immediate risk of closing (9%)

North Dakota
• 14 hospitals at risk of closing (38%)
• 3 at immediate risk of closing (8%)

Ohio
• 7 hospitals at risk of closing (9%)
• 3 at immediate risk of closing (4%)

Oklahoma
• 45 hospitals at risk of closing (62%)
• 18 at immediate risk of closing (25%)

Oregon
• 7 hospitals at risk of closing (21%)
• 3 at immediate risk of closing (9%)

Pennsylvania
• 17 hospitals at risk of closing (33%)
• 9 at immediate risk of closing (17%)

Rhode Island
• 1 hospital at risk of closing (100%)
• 0 at immediate risk of closing

South Carolina
• 7 hospitals at risk of closing (32%)
• 2 at immediate risk of closing (9%)

South Dakota
• 6 hospitals at risk of closing (12%)
• 3 at immediate risk of closing (6%)

Tennessee
• 17 hospitals at risk of closing (32%)
• 12 at immediate risk of closing (23%)

Texas
• 84 hospitals at risk of closing (55%)
• 26 at immediate risk of closing (17%)

Utah
• 0 hospitals at risk of closing
• 0 at immediate risk of closing

Vermont
• 8 hospitals at risk of closing (62%)
• 0 at immediate risk of closing

Virginia
• 7 hospitals at risk of closing (21%)
• 3 at immediate risk of closing (9%)

Washington
• 18 hospitals at risk of closing (41%)
• 6 at immediate risk of closing (14%)

West Virginia
• 12 hospitals at risk of closing (35%)
• 6 at immediate risk of closing (18%)

Wisconsin
• 14 hospitals at risk of closing (17%)
• 6 at immediate risk of closing (7%)

Wyoming
• 6 hospitals at risk of closing (22%)
• 3 at immediate risk of closing (11%)

Source:
https://www.newsweek.com/map-shows-states-with-hospitals-at-immediate-risk-of-closing-12028142

06/04/2026

REMINDER…

Coverage is not the same as no cost.

Just because you are paying premiums doesn’t mean you will pay $0 every time you see a doctor, visit a clinic or ER, fill a prescription, have a procedure, or get hospitalized. In most cases, you will still be responsible for a portion of the cost.

Whether it’s Medicare, employer-sponsored coverage, or an individual health plan, most people share healthcare costs through deductibles, copays, and coinsurance.

Understanding how your plan works is just as important as having coverage.

06/02/2026

More low-income seniors rely on Medicaid to help pay their Medicare premiums.

According to this study, the amount states spend on that assistance has more than doubled over the past decade—not because a huge number of people entered the program, but largely because Medicare premiums have continued to rise.

As the population ages, states may face increasing pressure to fund these benefits while having limited control over the factors driving the costs.

Source:

Health Affairs, “State Medicaid Programs Face Increased Spending On Medicare Premiums” (June 1, 2026). https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2025.01429

Medicaid covers Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket expenses for low-income older adults, who make up a growing segment of the US population. Using administrative data, we characterized the change in the number of beneficiaries dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid and corresponding changes in Me...

06/01/2026

Hello, June. ☀️
Here's to warm mornings, slow sunsets, and whatever is waiting to bloom next.

06/01/2026

One of the biggest misconceptions in healthcare is that insurance automatically protects people from financial hardship.

This investigation shows how benefit design, coverage limitations, billing complexity, and medical debt collection can leave even insured patients struggling.

Coverage is important. Affordability matters too.

Worth reading.

Patients’ experiences encapsulate breakdowns in a healthcare system that traps patients in debt. The industry’s key players blame one another.

05/28/2026

🦠 Outbreak, Epidemic, Pandemic, Endemic…

What are these?

These are public health terms used to describe patterns of disease occurrence and spread.

• Outbreak — a sudden increase in disease cases in a specific place or group.

• Epidemic — an unexpected increase in disease cases in a specific geographical area.

• Pandemic — a disease spreads across multiple countries and populations.

• Endemic — a disease is consistently present in a region at predictable levels.

04/04/2026

We’re starting to see prior authorization denial rates being published.

But in a fragmented system, data is not easy to collect—
and even harder to interpret.

Metrics are split across plans, contracts, and structures
that don’t easily connect.

So the challenge isn’t just access to data—
it’s making sense of it.

And if the data is difficult to interpret,
it becomes difficult to monitor.

And if it’s difficult to monitor,
it’s difficult to improve.

Transparency alone won’t fix anything—
especially when what’s being made transparent
is a convoluted process
within a fragmented system.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/medicare/120628