According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), 64 rural hospitals closed between 2013 and 2017, which is more than twice the number during the prior five-year period. The closures disproportionately occurred in the South, involved facilities that received the Medicare Dependent Hospital payment designation, and were hospitals affected by financial distress.
The report can be obtained at https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/694125.pdf.