Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance
Reimagining and Reinvesting in Rural Hospital Markets
Commentary examining the hospital infrastructure needed in rural areas and how rural hospitals can be financed. Discusses current issues related to rural hospital services and how public health policy and infrastructure can impact the health of rural citizens.
Author(s): Caitlin Carroll, Arrianna Planey, Katy B. Kozhimannil
Citation: Health Services Research, 57(5), 1001-1005
Date: 10/2022
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Commentary examining the hospital infrastructure needed in rural areas and how rural hospitals can be financed. Discusses current issues related to rural hospital services and how public health policy and infrastructure can impact the health of rural citizens.
Author(s): Caitlin Carroll, Arrianna Planey, Katy B. Kozhimannil
Citation: Health Services Research, 57(5), 1001-1005
Date: 10/2022
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Improving Rural Maternal Health Care through Network Models: Summary of the RMOMS Program 2021 Cohort
Describes the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) program supporting increased access to maternal healthcare in rural communities and improvement in maternal and neonatal outcomes. Summarizes three RMOMS programs from the 2021 Cohort - Families First: Rural Maternity Health Collaborative (Minnesota), RMOM-Southeast Missouri Partnership, and West Virginia RMOMS Collaborative. Identifies their maternal health service area, network partners, and goals and strategies for improving healthcare access and outcomes.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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Describes the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) program supporting increased access to maternal healthcare in rural communities and improvement in maternal and neonatal outcomes. Summarizes three RMOMS programs from the 2021 Cohort - Families First: Rural Maternity Health Collaborative (Minnesota), RMOM-Southeast Missouri Partnership, and West Virginia RMOMS Collaborative. Identifies their maternal health service area, network partners, and goals and strategies for improving healthcare access and outcomes.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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Medicare Part B Overpaid and Beneficiaries Incurred Cost-Share Overcharges of Over $1 Million for the Same Professional Services
Results of an audit of Medicare Part B claims to determine whether Part B payments to Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) for professional services and payments made to healthcare practitioners for the same services complied with federal requirements. Includes recommendations from the Office of Inspector General (OIG), and the response from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Additional links: Report in Brief
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Results of an audit of Medicare Part B claims to determine whether Part B payments to Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) for professional services and payments made to healthcare practitioners for the same services complied with federal requirements. Includes recommendations from the Office of Inspector General (OIG), and the response from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Additional links: Report in Brief
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services Meeting Summary, Lawrence, Kansas, September 14-16, 2022
Summarizes the 90th meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS), which was held in Lawrence, Kansas. Presents an overview of national and state perspectives on Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Summarizes the 90th meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS), which was held in Lawrence, Kansas. Presents an overview of national and state perspectives on Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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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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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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