By Patrick Quinlan, MD

Washington has unlocked $50 billion for rural hospital relief (approximately $1B per state, thanks to The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services CMS Rural Health Transformation Program). That sounds like a massive breakthrough. But let’s be honest: if we spend it the way we’ve always spent rural funding, we’ll get the same results we’ve always gotten: temporary stabilization, fleeting support, and a slow slide back toward the same structural failures.

Patching roofs, recruiting temporary staff, or propping up service lines that are unsustainable in low-volume environments won’t solve the underlying crisis. It will simply delay the inevitable collapse of small-town hospitals already operating on razor-thin margins.

This funding round shouldn’t be treated as another bailout. It’s a once-in-a-generation chance to rethink what rural healthcare is – and what it could be. And for less than $10,000 per rural hospital, solutions like Hippo Virtual Care can fundamentally shift the way care is delivered, improving clinical outcomes and generating a meaningful return on investment while avoiding the cost and complexity of legacy infrastructure.

Why the Old Way Won’t Cut It

The traditional rural hospital model is built around a volume-driven system that simply doesn’t match rural realities:

• The specialist-centric staffing model is unsustainable. Rural hospitals cannot recruit or retain full-time neurologists, cardiologists, OB/GYNs, psychiatrists, and other specialists – yet patients still need them.
• Past funding has focused on infrastructure, not outcomes. Millions have been spent maintaining buildings that are underutilized rather than modernizing the way care is delivered.
• Basic telehealth isn’t enough. While helpful, simple video visits can’t replace hands-on care or generate sustainable hospital revenue.
  
  

What Real Transformation Looks Like

A future-proof rural health model doesn’t depend on geography – it depends on access, collaboration, and smarter use of resources.

• On-demand specialty care without on-site specialists: Using Hippo’s Assisted Reality headsets, remote experts can guide local teams in real time during complex cases, procedures, and critical care interventions.
• Local care in the patient’s community: With Hippo, care stays local, which improves outcomes, keeps revenue in the community, and strengthens trust.
• Optimized use of scarce clinicians: With Hippo, rural hospitals can extend the reach and capacity of limited staff through Clinician Extenders and remote specialists.
• A sustainable, scalable model: Hippo grows as the community grows and evolves as clinical needs change.

A Provocative Thought: What If the Future of Rural Health Isn’t Hospitals at All?

Instead of thinking, “How do we keep the hospital open?” we should be asking: “How do we guarantee rural patients receive high-quality care – every time, regardless of where they live?”

That may not require a hospital in the traditional sense. It may require a hybrid care network of local practitioners supported by remote specialists, advanced wearable technologies, and intelligent workflows connecting every point of care. That is not a downgrade – it’s an upgrade. It’s a smarter, more resilient model built around access, not architecture. We call it Coactive CareÔ.

With just $10,000 per facility, a virtual-first system can:

• Deliver specialty care immediately
• Reduce avoidable transfers
• Improve clinical outcomes
• Strengthen local capacity
• Generate ROI in months, not years

For example, if your state has 40 rural hospitals and another 10 Critical Access Hospitals, Hippo could be up and running in all 50 in under six months for an all-in cost of just $500K, providing care immediately that is effective and efficient and will soon lead to improved healthcare metrics.

Rural America Doesn’t Need Another Bailout. It Needs a New Model.

If we spend the $50B propping up what’s already failing, nothing will change. But if even a fraction of those dollars goes toward modernizing care delivery, building virtual specialty networks, and empowering local clinicians with remote expertise, rural communities can achieve access levels once thought impossible.

The future of rural healthcare isn’t about preserving buildings. It’s about preserving access, dignity, and quality of care – no matter the ZIP code.

Patrick Quinlan, MD is CEO Emeritus of the Ochsner Health System and CEO and Co-founder of Hippo Technologies, Inc.

For further information or to schedule a demo of Hippo in Action, contact: tom.fee@myhippo.life