Alabama Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, has reintroduced a bill that would establish a tax credit program that could provide up to $30 million a year to the state’s struggling rural hospitals.
House Bill 86 would establish the Rural Hospital Investment Program, which would provide dollar-to-dollar tax credits for individuals and corporations that make donations to rural hospitals. If established, the tax credit program would have an annual statewide cap of $20 million for 2026, $25 million for 2027, and $30 million for 2028 and beyond.
Latest effort
The bill is just the latest effort to aid the state’s rural hospitals, which in recent years have struggled to remain afloat financially; some have shuttered services, and others have closed indefinitely, such as Thomasville Regional Medical Center in Clarke County. Of the state’s 52 rural hospitals, more than half are at risk of closing, and 19 are at an immediate risk of closing, according to a report from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.
“When Thomasville closed, the rural hospital in West Alabama, that is what encouraged me to refile the bill early because this could have helped that and prevented that,” Collins told Alabama Daily News. “Before any others close, I would really like for us to throw them a lifeline, so to speak.”
The 2025 legislative session starts Tuesday.
Check out full story.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Alexander Willis and originally published by Alabama Daily News.
Share with others: