Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health insurance
Evaluation of the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration: Report Covering 2005-2017 (Interim Report 1)
Provides an overview of the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration (RCHD). Describes the characteristics of RCHD participants that entered the demonstration between 2005-2012, the Medicare payments received under program, and the impact of the RCHD on hospital finances between 2005-2017.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Provides an overview of the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration (RCHD). Describes the characteristics of RCHD participants that entered the demonstration between 2005-2012, the Medicare payments received under program, and the impact of the RCHD on hospital finances between 2005-2017.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs for CY 2022
Comments on an August 4, 2021, Federal Register proposed rule revising the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ACS) payment system for calendar year 2022. Includes considerations for Rural Emergency Hospital payments and emergency department staffing requirements.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Comments on an August 4, 2021, Federal Register proposed rule revising the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ACS) payment system for calendar year 2022. Includes considerations for Rural Emergency Hospital payments and emergency department staffing requirements.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Air Ambulance Use and Surprise Billing
Provides an overview of air ambulance services, including the types and number of air ambulance providers and suppliers, utilization rates by patients, average costs, and the potential for balance billing for air ambulance transport. Summarizes key policies and legislation related to air ambulances, including the No Surprises Act. Presents data on air ambulance utilization by rurality between 2014-2018.
Author(s): Gina Turrini, Joel Ruhter, Andre R. Chappel, Nancy De Lew
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Provides an overview of air ambulance services, including the types and number of air ambulance providers and suppliers, utilization rates by patients, average costs, and the potential for balance billing for air ambulance transport. Summarizes key policies and legislation related to air ambulances, including the No Surprises Act. Presents data on air ambulance utilization by rurality between 2014-2018.
Author(s): Gina Turrini, Joel Ruhter, Andre R. Chappel, Nancy De Lew
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Revisions to Part B for CY 2022
Comment on a July 23, 2021, Federal Register proposed rule revising the physician fee schedule to improve payment systems for physicians and other Medicare Part B revisions. Includes a discussion of the expansion of telehealth service coverage after the COVID-19 public health emergency, as well as reimbursement rates to Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers for telehealth mental health services.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Comment on a July 23, 2021, Federal Register proposed rule revising the physician fee schedule to improve payment systems for physicians and other Medicare Part B revisions. Includes a discussion of the expansion of telehealth service coverage after the COVID-19 public health emergency, as well as reimbursement rates to Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers for telehealth mental health services.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Geographic Access to Health Care for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries: A National Study
Policy brief exploring rural and urban healthcare, geographic access to providers, and types of providers seen by Medicare beneficiaries based on Medicare administrative data from 2014. Charts offer rural and urban comparisons of characteristics of beneficiaries, number of visits by region, number of visits by race/ethnicity, visits by provider type, and travel distance and time.
Author(s): Eric H. Larson, C. Holly A. Andrilla, Lisa A. Garberson, David V. Evans
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Policy brief exploring rural and urban healthcare, geographic access to providers, and types of providers seen by Medicare beneficiaries based on Medicare administrative data from 2014. Charts offer rural and urban comparisons of characteristics of beneficiaries, number of visits by region, number of visits by race/ethnicity, visits by provider type, and travel distance and time.
Author(s): Eric H. Larson, C. Holly A. Andrilla, Lisa A. Garberson, David V. Evans
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Medicare Covers a Lower Percentage of Outpatient Costs in Hospitals Located in Rural Areas
Policy brief describing differences in Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) payments between urban and rural hospitals. Features statistics on OPPS payments as a percent of total net patient revenue, as a percent of Medicare outpatient cost by hospital payment classification, and as a percent of Medicare outpatient cost by number of acute beds, with breakdowns by urban and rural location.
Author(s): Pranathi Sana, George H. Pink
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Policy brief describing differences in Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) payments between urban and rural hospitals. Features statistics on OPPS payments as a percent of total net patient revenue, as a percent of Medicare outpatient cost by hospital payment classification, and as a percent of Medicare outpatient cost by number of acute beds, with breakdowns by urban and rural location.
Author(s): Pranathi Sana, George H. Pink
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Preconception Health Disparities and Birth Outcomes among Foreign-Born and Native-Born Hispanic Women in Oklahoma
Evaluates the birth outcomes for Hispanic Oklahoma women, comparing those born in and out of the United States. Considers the mother's age, education, health insurance, and rurality. Makes recommendations to improve birth outcomes.
Date: 08/2021
Sponsoring organization: Oklahoma State Department of Health
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Evaluates the birth outcomes for Hispanic Oklahoma women, comparing those born in and out of the United States. Considers the mother's age, education, health insurance, and rurality. Makes recommendations to improve birth outcomes.
Date: 08/2021
Sponsoring organization: Oklahoma State Department of Health
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The Action Report: Kansas Power Up & Go
Explores strategies to retain young people and families in rural Kansas. Discusses issues such as child care, housing, broadband, employment with health insurance packages, career opportunities and economic development, cultural sensitivity, and more.
Date: 08/2021
Sponsoring organizations: Kansas Office Of Rural Prosperity, The Kansas Sampler Foundation
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Explores strategies to retain young people and families in rural Kansas. Discusses issues such as child care, housing, broadband, employment with health insurance packages, career opportunities and economic development, cultural sensitivity, and more.
Date: 08/2021
Sponsoring organizations: Kansas Office Of Rural Prosperity, The Kansas Sampler Foundation
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Evaluation of the Vermont All-Payer Accountable Care Organization Model: First Evaluation Report
Evaluates the first two performance years of the Vermont All-Payer Accountable Care Organization Model (VTAPM), which aims to assess whether scaling an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) across all payers in the state can reduce program expenditures while preserving or improving care quality. Discusses the implementation of the model, provider engagement, efforts to address population health goals; characteristics of participating hospitals, practitioners, and beneficiaries; and the model's impacts on Medicare spending, utilization, and quality of care. Includes information on hospital and provider participation in rural counties and unique challenges for rural Critical Access Hospitals.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance, Technical Appendices
Date: 08/2021
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Evaluates the first two performance years of the Vermont All-Payer Accountable Care Organization Model (VTAPM), which aims to assess whether scaling an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) across all payers in the state can reduce program expenditures while preserving or improving care quality. Discusses the implementation of the model, provider engagement, efforts to address population health goals; characteristics of participating hospitals, practitioners, and beneficiaries; and the model's impacts on Medicare spending, utilization, and quality of care. Includes information on hospital and provider participation in rural counties and unique challenges for rural Critical Access Hospitals.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance, Technical Appendices
Date: 08/2021
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Primary Care Case Management in Medicaid: A Strategy for Supporting Primary Care in Rural Areas
Describes how Medicaid agencies in five states - Alabama, Colorado, Maine, Idaho, and Oklahoma - utilize primary care case management (PCCM) programs to strengthen primary care, particularly in rural areas. Identifies three strategies implemented by some or all of these states to support primary care providers, and highlights lessons learned for state Medicaid programs that want to strengthen primary care in rural areas.
Author(s): Neva Kaye
Date: 08/2021
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
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Describes how Medicaid agencies in five states - Alabama, Colorado, Maine, Idaho, and Oklahoma - utilize primary care case management (PCCM) programs to strengthen primary care, particularly in rural areas. Identifies three strategies implemented by some or all of these states to support primary care providers, and highlights lessons learned for state Medicaid programs that want to strengthen primary care in rural areas.
Author(s): Neva Kaye
Date: 08/2021
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
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