More people are seeking care from a small number of hospitals

A small number of hospitals in many U.S. metro areas are increasingly seeing most of the country’s hospital admissions, according to a new report. Some 67% of U.S. metro areas — 75 cities and towns — had high concentrations of hospitals in 2012, but those figures increased by 2016. In that year, some 81 metro areas — had high concentrations of health care facilities. Rural areas tended to have more patients who sought their care from only a few hospitals. Springfield, Mo., for instance, was ranked the most concentrated such metro area, while New York City, which has a large share of hospitals and therefore more options for patients, was ranked the least concentrated area in the ranking of 112 metro areas. One possible reason for these trends: more hospitals are now merging to form large networks.