In the last 8 years, Alabama has lost six hospitals and will soon see Lakeland Community Hospital in Haleyville close at the end of the year.

Don Williamson, president of the Alabama Hospital Association, reports that 84 percent of Alabama’s rural hospitals operate in the red.

One of the primary reasons reported for the numbers is that Alabama has one of the nation’s lowest reimbursement rates for Medicare, which is heavily used in rural communities.