Longstanding gaps in access to care—driven by hospital closures, workforce shortages, and underinvestment—have pushed many systems to the brink. But as new policy conversations take shape, there is also a rare opportunity to rethink how healthcare is delivered, financed and sustained in rural America.
In a recent opinion piece for RealClearHealth, U.S. Co-ops president and CEO Doug O’Brien highlights the role cooperatives can play in rebuilding rural healthcare from the ground up. By centering local ownership, shared governance and community-driven solutions, cooperatives offer a proven path to stabilize care delivery while keeping resources rooted in the communities they serve.
“The future of rural health depends on doing something fundamentally different: owning our health systems together,” O’Brien writes.