Glenn Medical Center, the sole hospital in Glenn County, California, remains closed even after a new federal law restores its critical access designation, which would enable full Medicare reimbursement once it restarts operations.

The restored critical access status relaxes the 35-mile distance rule for eligible facilities and boosts Medicare reimbursements, addressing a factor in Glenn Medical Center’s closure since it sits just 32 miles from the next hospital.

The hospital estimates it will need between $40 million and $50 million to reopen and rehire staff, noting that designation alone does not provide reopening funds.

Owners American Advanced Management acknowledge that even with the status restored, reopening requires substantial staffing and financial planning to reach long-term sustainability.

Experts say substantial costs for recruitment and ramp-up, before Medicare reimbursements stabilize operations, mean state or additional funding may be necessary.

The situation highlights the interplay of federal designation, state loan programs, and broader rural health funding challenges as the hospital weighs a path to reopening.

A California bill from Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria proposes a new round of $300 million distressed-hospital loans to help facilities like Glenn Medical reopen, following a prior program that supported hospitals such as Madera Community Hospital.

The broader context includes ongoing financial pressures on rural and independent hospitals, with labor costs, reimbursement rates, and federal budget changes to safety-net programs, and federal Rural Health Transformation Project funds offering only partial relief.