Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance
MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Home Health Prospective Payment System for CY 2027
Comments on a July 6, 2026, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for home health agencies. Includes comments regarding permanent and temporary budget-neutrality adjustments and durable medical equipment and provider enrollment provisions, as well as comments in response to a request for information on the construction of a home health-specific wage index.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Comments on a July 6, 2026, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for home health agencies. Includes comments regarding permanent and temporary budget-neutrality adjustments and durable medical equipment and provider enrollment provisions, as well as comments in response to a request for information on the construction of a home health-specific wage index.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Payment Systems for Hospital Outpatient Departments and Ambulatory Surgical Centers for CY 2027
Comment on the July 7, 2026, Federal Register proposed rule revising the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) payment system for calendar year 2027. Includes considerations for expansion of site-neutral payments for imaging without contrast services under the OPPS, the continued use of the hospital market basket to update ASC payment rates, the reduction of OPPS payment rates for 340B-acquired drugs, and more.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Comment on the July 7, 2026, Federal Register proposed rule revising the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) payment system for calendar year 2027. Includes considerations for expansion of site-neutral payments for imaging without contrast services under the OPPS, the continued use of the hospital market basket to update ASC payment rates, the reduction of OPPS payment rates for 340B-acquired drugs, and more.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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2026 Annual Insurance Update: Health Insurance in Kansas
Reports on health insurance coverage across Kansas and nationwide, presenting 2009-2024 trends in coverage. Includes 2023 county-level data on uninsured rates by age group as well as Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment. Compares uninsurance rates across frontier, rural, densely-settled rural, semi-urban, and urban county location.
Author(s): Kaci Cink, Viktoria Sterkhova, Cynthia Snyder, Wen-Chieh Lin
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
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Reports on health insurance coverage across Kansas and nationwide, presenting 2009-2024 trends in coverage. Includes 2023 county-level data on uninsured rates by age group as well as Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment. Compares uninsurance rates across frontier, rural, densely-settled rural, semi-urban, and urban county location.
Author(s): Kaci Cink, Viktoria Sterkhova, Cynthia Snyder, Wen-Chieh Lin
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
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Availability of Rural Hospitals Providing Inpatient Maternity Care in Medicaid
Examines the availability of hospitals offering inpatient maternity care in rural areas to Medicaid enrollees. Describes the median drive time between rural hospitals and the next closest in-state hospital that provides inpatient maternity care to Medicaid enrollees by state. Includes data on the number of urban and rural hospitals providing these services in each state in 2023.
Author(s): Rhiannon Euhus, Brittni Frederiksen, Alice Burns
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Examines the availability of hospitals offering inpatient maternity care in rural areas to Medicaid enrollees. Describes the median drive time between rural hospitals and the next closest in-state hospital that provides inpatient maternity care to Medicaid enrollees by state. Includes data on the number of urban and rural hospitals providing these services in each state in 2023.
Author(s): Rhiannon Euhus, Brittni Frederiksen, Alice Burns
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Meeting Challenges of Staffing Rural Health Systems: Strategies and Actions in Eight Organizations
Summarizes key findings from conversations with health system leaders regarding workforce strategy and operations challenges. Describes initiatives used in rural healthcare settings to offset clinical, administrative, and technical support staffing constraints; accommodate evolving care needs; and address limitations unique to rural settings.
Author(s): Lauren Lavin, Alva O. Ferdinand, Mark Holmes, et al.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Summarizes key findings from conversations with health system leaders regarding workforce strategy and operations challenges. Describes initiatives used in rural healthcare settings to offset clinical, administrative, and technical support staffing constraints; accommodate evolving care needs; and address limitations unique to rural settings.
Author(s): Lauren Lavin, Alva O. Ferdinand, Mark Holmes, et al.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Mandatory Value-Based Payment Programs and Hospital Administrative Costs
Explores the association between hospital participation in mandatory value-based payment programs and hospital administrative costs. Analyzes Medicare cost report data from 2006 to 2020 to examine hospital administrative costs before and during implementation of four mandatory programs: the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) program, the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP), the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program (HACRP), and the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model. Compares data from participating hospitals to data from nonparticipating hospitals, including general acute care hospitals in Maryland that were paid under Maryland's all-payer model, Critical Access Hospitals, and long-term care hospitals.
Author(s): Zehui Zhou, Jason D. Buxbaum, Andrew M. Ryan
Citation: JAMA Health Forum, 7(8), e262503
Date: 08/2026
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Explores the association between hospital participation in mandatory value-based payment programs and hospital administrative costs. Analyzes Medicare cost report data from 2006 to 2020 to examine hospital administrative costs before and during implementation of four mandatory programs: the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) program, the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP), the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program (HACRP), and the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model. Compares data from participating hospitals to data from nonparticipating hospitals, including general acute care hospitals in Maryland that were paid under Maryland's all-payer model, Critical Access Hospitals, and long-term care hospitals.
Author(s): Zehui Zhou, Jason D. Buxbaum, Andrew M. Ryan
Citation: JAMA Health Forum, 7(8), e262503
Date: 08/2026
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State of Oral Health in America: Key Findings from 2026
Details the findings of a survey that aims to identify gaps in dental coverage, barriers to care, and areas that have worse overall oral health outcomes across the country. Compares metro and nonmetro areas by dental insurance coverage, adult dental visits, and overall oral health.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: CareQuest Institute for Oral Health
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Details the findings of a survey that aims to identify gaps in dental coverage, barriers to care, and areas that have worse overall oral health outcomes across the country. Compares metro and nonmetro areas by dental insurance coverage, adult dental visits, and overall oral health.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: CareQuest Institute for Oral Health
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The Appalachian Region: A Data Overview from the 2020-2024 American Community Survey Chartbook
Provides state- and county-level information on population, age, household characteristics, housing occupancy, education, labor force, employment, transportation, income, health insurance coverage, disability, and veteran status for the 13 Appalachian states. Features statistics with breakdowns by 5 levels of population density. Includes data explorer options for Appalachian categories such as population and age, education, income and poverty, computer and broadband access, rural Appalachia versus rural America, and employment and commuting.
Additional links: Full Report
Author(s): Sara Srygley, Nurfadila Khairunnisa, Diana Elliott
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Appalachian Regional Commission, Population Reference Bureau
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Provides state- and county-level information on population, age, household characteristics, housing occupancy, education, labor force, employment, transportation, income, health insurance coverage, disability, and veteran status for the 13 Appalachian states. Features statistics with breakdowns by 5 levels of population density. Includes data explorer options for Appalachian categories such as population and age, education, income and poverty, computer and broadband access, rural Appalachia versus rural America, and employment and commuting.
Additional links: Full Report
Author(s): Sara Srygley, Nurfadila Khairunnisa, Diana Elliott
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Appalachian Regional Commission, Population Reference Bureau
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Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Evaluation of Compliance with the Rural and Distance Requirements
Provides guidance regarding the evaluation of Critical Access Hospital (CAH) status and location requirements for current CAHs and initial CAH determinations. Covers the circumstances that trigger a CAH eligibility review, the evaluation of whether a proposed provider-based location will impact a CAH's status, and procedures for decennial reviews of existing CAHs.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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Provides guidance regarding the evaluation of Critical Access Hospital (CAH) status and location requirements for current CAHs and initial CAH determinations. Covers the circumstances that trigger a CAH eligibility review, the evaluation of whether a proposed provider-based location will impact a CAH's status, and procedures for decennial reviews of existing CAHs.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Payment System for End-Stage Renal Disease for CY 2027
Comments on a June 26, 2026, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Includes comments addressing updates to the ESRD bundled market basket and the low-volume payment adjustment (LVPA), approaches to increase home dialysis use, and more.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Comments on a June 26, 2026, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Includes comments addressing updates to the ESRD bundled market basket and the low-volume payment adjustment (LVPA), approaches to increase home dialysis use, and more.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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