Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance
Configuration and Delivery of Primary Care in Rural and Urban Settings
Compares structure, capabilities, and payment reform participation of isolated, small town, micropolitan, and metropolitan physician practices. Features statistics on characteristics of physician practices, Medicare beneficiaries, and beneficiary utilization in 2017, with breakdowns by rurality.
Author(s): Taressa K. Fraze, Valerie A. Lewis, Andrew Wood, Helen Newton, Carrie H. Colla
Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 37(12), 3045-3053
Date: 09/2022
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Compares structure, capabilities, and payment reform participation of isolated, small town, micropolitan, and metropolitan physician practices. Features statistics on characteristics of physician practices, Medicare beneficiaries, and beneficiary utilization in 2017, with breakdowns by rurality.
Author(s): Taressa K. Fraze, Valerie A. Lewis, Andrew Wood, Helen Newton, Carrie H. Colla
Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 37(12), 3045-3053
Date: 09/2022
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September 2022 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) September 2022 meeting. Covers Medicare payments to safety-net clinicians, the development of a prototype post-acute care prospective payment system, nursing facility staffing requirements and data, the expansion of telehealth during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) and payment for telehealth services after the PHE, inpatient psychiatric facility care, and Part D data on drug rebates and discounts. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) September 2022 meeting. Covers Medicare payments to safety-net clinicians, the development of a prototype post-acute care prospective payment system, nursing facility staffing requirements and data, the expansion of telehealth during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) and payment for telehealth services after the PHE, inpatient psychiatric facility care, and Part D data on drug rebates and discounts. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Health Panel Comment Letter – Medicare Shared Savings Program Requirements
Comments offered in response to a July 29, 2022, proposed rule regarding changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program (SSP) to facilitate more widespread participation in Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). Discusses how changes will impact rural Medicare beneficiaries, as well as challenges to extending ACOs to all rural counties. Covers advanced interest payments, extended time in one-sided risk, changes to calculating benchmarks, proposals to allow low revenue ACOs to realize shared savings at a lower minimum, a health equity adjustment, and social determinants of health measures.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Comments offered in response to a July 29, 2022, proposed rule regarding changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program (SSP) to facilitate more widespread participation in Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). Discusses how changes will impact rural Medicare beneficiaries, as well as challenges to extending ACOs to all rural counties. Covers advanced interest payments, extended time in one-sided risk, changes to calculating benchmarks, proposals to allow low revenue ACOs to realize shared savings at a lower minimum, a health equity adjustment, and social determinants of health measures.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Capital Financing Strategies for Rurally-Located Health Centers
Recording of a September 2022 webinar discussing financing sources available to rural health centers for capital expansion projects. Discusses financing opportunities, including the HRSA Loan Guarantee Program and New Markets Tax Credits, among others. Profiles El Dorado Community Health Center, a rural health center in California that completed a capital development project. Free registration is required to access the webinar recording.
Additional links: Presentation Slides
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Capital Link
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Recording of a September 2022 webinar discussing financing sources available to rural health centers for capital expansion projects. Discusses financing opportunities, including the HRSA Loan Guarantee Program and New Markets Tax Credits, among others. Profiles El Dorado Community Health Center, a rural health center in California that completed a capital development project. Free registration is required to access the webinar recording.
Additional links: Presentation Slides
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Capital Link
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Medicaid: Efforts to Address Fraud in Nonemergency Medical Transportation
Describes state approaches to administering the non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) Medicaid benefit. Highlights how Colorado uses different approaches to serve urban and rural counties. Discusses the outcomes and findings of related fraud investigations and program audits and strategies selected states used to address related fraud.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Describes state approaches to administering the non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) Medicaid benefit. Highlights how Colorado uses different approaches to serve urban and rural counties. Discusses the outcomes and findings of related fraud investigations and program audits and strategies selected states used to address related fraud.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Rural Health Equity and Quality Summit Report
Summarizes a June 2022 summit with experts in rural healthcare policy, health equity, value-based care, and clinical quality to explore the roles of small rural hospitals and Rural Health Clinics in achieving health equity. Discusses barriers and challenges to achieving rural health equity. Presents best practices and innovative models in promoting health equity in rural areas.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Summarizes a June 2022 summit with experts in rural healthcare policy, health equity, value-based care, and clinical quality to explore the roles of small rural hospitals and Rural Health Clinics in achieving health equity. Discusses barriers and challenges to achieving rural health equity. Presents best practices and innovative models in promoting health equity in rural areas.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Medicare Telehealth: Actions Needed to Strengthen Oversight and Help Providers Educate Patients on Privacy and Security Risks
Analyzes 2019 and 2020 Medicare claims data to explore the utilization of telehealth services before and after the implementation of regulatory flexibilities and waivers in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Describes efforts taken by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to identify and monitor risks posed by Medicare telehealth waivers, as well as a change made to the enforcement of regulations governing patients' protected health information during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Offers three recommendations to CMS to strengthen oversight and assess the quality of telehealth services and one recommendation regarding assistance to providers to explain the privacy and security risks of telehealth to patients.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Analyzes 2019 and 2020 Medicare claims data to explore the utilization of telehealth services before and after the implementation of regulatory flexibilities and waivers in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Describes efforts taken by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to identify and monitor risks posed by Medicare telehealth waivers, as well as a change made to the enforcement of regulations governing patients' protected health information during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Offers three recommendations to CMS to strengthen oversight and assess the quality of telehealth services and one recommendation regarding assistance to providers to explain the privacy and security risks of telehealth to patients.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Landscape of Area-Level Deprivation Measures and Other Approaches to Account for Social Risk and Social Determinants of Health in Health Care Payments
Examines social determinants of health (SDOH) at the community level and their impact on health-related social needs (HRSNs) of the individual. Discusses how policies related to federal payment systems can incentivize screening for HRSNs as well as referrals to appropriate social and behavioral services. Provides an environmental scan of what measures can be used to provide accountability for funding and policy efforts targeted at SDOH. Includes an appendix that defines and describes indices of social risk, such as the social vulnerability index (SVI) and area deprivation index (ADI), as well as payment models that include measures of social risk.
Author(s): Joshua Breslau, Laurie Martin, Justin Timbie, Nabeel Qureshi, Deborah Zajdman
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, RAND Corporation
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Examines social determinants of health (SDOH) at the community level and their impact on health-related social needs (HRSNs) of the individual. Discusses how policies related to federal payment systems can incentivize screening for HRSNs as well as referrals to appropriate social and behavioral services. Provides an environmental scan of what measures can be used to provide accountability for funding and policy efforts targeted at SDOH. Includes an appendix that defines and describes indices of social risk, such as the social vulnerability index (SVI) and area deprivation index (ADI), as well as payment models that include measures of social risk.
Author(s): Joshua Breslau, Laurie Martin, Justin Timbie, Nabeel Qureshi, Deborah Zajdman
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, RAND Corporation
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Measure Applications Partnership 2022 Considerations for Measure Set Review in Federal Programs: Clinician, Hospital, and Post-Acute Care/Long-Term Care
Reviews the 32 healthcare quality and efficiency measures used by the National Quality Forum's Measure Applications Partnership (MAP) during 2022. Discusses measures for clinician programs, hospital programs, and post-acute care/long-term care programs. Includes the MAP Rural Health Advisory Group's support or determination of the suitability of each measure for rural providers.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Quality Forum
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Reviews the 32 healthcare quality and efficiency measures used by the National Quality Forum's Measure Applications Partnership (MAP) during 2022. Discusses measures for clinician programs, hospital programs, and post-acute care/long-term care programs. Includes the MAP Rural Health Advisory Group's support or determination of the suitability of each measure for rural providers.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Quality Forum
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Next Steps for the Rural Emergency Hospital Model
Blog post discussing rural hospital closures and how the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) model can help financially vulnerable hospitals align their services to the needs of the community. Highlights recommendations to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regarding REH Conditions of Participation and payment.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center
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Blog post discussing rural hospital closures and how the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) model can help financially vulnerable hospitals align their services to the needs of the community. Highlights recommendations to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regarding REH Conditions of Participation and payment.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center
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