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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Accountable Care Organizations

Characteristics of Rural Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) – A Survey of Medicare ACOs with Rural Presence
Describes the findings of a survey of 27 Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) that have a presence in a rural area, focusing on characteristics concerning their formation and operation to better inform policy discussions around ACOs in rural areas.
Author(s): Abiodun Salako, Xi Zhu, A. Clinton MacKinney, Fred Ullrich, Keith Mueller
Date: 05/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Developmental Strategies and Challenges of Rural Accountable Care Organizations
Reports information gathered from 4 Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) serving rural Medicare beneficiaries in 2013. Highlights lessons learned, opportunities for success, and challenges observed by the ACOs.
Author(s): Jure Baloh, A. Clinton MacKinney, Keith Mueller, et al.
Date: 02/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Rural Health Networks and New Forms of Governance
Profiles Wilderness Health, a formal network of rural and urban independent hospitals in Minnesota focused on performance improvement. The network participates in the Integrated Health Partnership, Minnesota's Medicaid Accountable Care Organization (ACO) model.
Date: 2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Rural Accountable Care Organization Care Coordination
Profile of the MaineHealth Accountable Care Organization (MHACO), which uses regional teams to provide care coordination to patients with complex medical profiles.
Date: 2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Rural-Urban Differences in Continuity of Care among Medicare Beneficiaries
Analyzes emerging care and payment models such as patient-centered medical homes, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), and bundled payments to identify differences in continuity of care when applied to rural vs. urban settings.
Author(s): Matthew Toth, Caroleen Quach, Mark Holmes
Date: 12/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Care Coordination Comparative Matrix
Identifies rural health networks that are developing or implementing value-based models and recaps brief interviews with the network leaders that are implementing or developing care coordination initiatives. The matrix allows rural health networks to share features and lessons learned through the process of implementing the care coordination programs with one another.
Date: 08/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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State Innovation Models (SIM) Initiative Evaluation: Model Design and Model Pre-Test Evaluation Report
Reports on the experiences of 19 states that received federal support to work on state health care innovation plans focused on developing innovative healthcare delivery and payment models. Discusses rural concerns in these states, as well as strategies to address rural healthcare needs. Some topics addressed include patient-centered medical homes, accountable care organizations, workforce, broadband access, electronic health record adoption, and telehealth.
Date: 07/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International
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Facilitating the Formation of Accountable Care Organizations in Rural Areas
Presents characteristics contributing to the formation of four accountable care organizations (ACOs) that serve rural Medicare beneficiaries and discusses implications for policies that facilitate rural ACO formation. Three of the ACOs in this study operate in both rural and metropolitan areas, and one operates exclusively in a rural area.
Author(s): Jure Baloh, Xi Zhu, Tom Vaughn, et al.
Date: 07/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Medicare Accountable Care Organizations: Program Eligibility, Beneficiary Assignment, and Quality Measures
Discusses the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) eligibility, participation requirements, beneficiary assignment processes, and quality measures to assist rural providers considering Accountable Care Organization (ACO) formation.
Author(s): A. Clinton MacKinney, Keith J. Mueller, Xi Zhu, Thomas Vaughn
Date: 04/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Accountable Care Organizations in Rural America
Examines the prevalence of Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) in the U.S. Includes breakdowns by non-metropolitan, metropolitan, and mixed counties, as well as a map of ACO locations.
Additional links: National and Regional Maps
Author(s): A. Clinton MacKinney, Thomas Vaughn, Xi Zhu, Keith J. Mueller, Fred Ullrich
Date: 07/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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