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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance

Health Panel Comment Letter – Maternal and Infant Health Care in Rural Communities
Offers comments in response to the CMS Maternal and Infant Health Care in Rural Communities Request for Information. Describes Medicare cost reporting challenges for obstetric services at Critical Access Hospitals and possible changes to maternal health coverage under Medicaid.
Date: 05/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Fact Sheet: Rural Community Hospital (RCH) Demonstration
Provides an overview of the Rural Community Hospital demonstration program. Describes reimbursement challenges that rural hospitals face and the early results of the program.
Date: 05/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Access to Medicare Part D Plans: A Comparison of Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas
Policy brief focusing on the types of Medicare Part D plans offered in metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore locations. Offers comparisons between stand-alone plans and Medicare Advantage plans, in terms of premiums, benefits, and the manner in which these plans are offered.
Author(s): Mochamad Nataliansyah, Abiodun Salako, Fred Ullrich, Keith Mueller,
Date: 05/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Community Impact and Benefit Activities of Critical Access, Other Rural, and Urban Hospitals, 2018
Examines the economic and healthcare benefit of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) on rural communities. Looks at services provided, economic health of CAHs, and the effect this has on their communities broadly. Includes national and state-level comparisons of service indicators provided by CAHs and other rural and urban hospitals.
Author(s): Zachariah Croll, John Gale, Connor Huggins
Date: 05/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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COVID-19's Current Impact on Rural Healthcare Delivery: Q&A with Brock Slabach
An interview with Brock Slabach, the National Rural Health Association's Senior Vice President for Member Services. Discusses the impact of COVID-19 on rural healthcare facilities, policy changes impacting rural providers, collaboration among rural communities to help share solutions, and the use of telehealth during the pandemic.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 05/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility PPS for FY 2021
Comments on an April 21, 2020, Federal Register proposed rule addressing updates to the prospective payment system for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for fiscal year 2021. Includes comments on the adoption of the Office of Management and Budget's geographic area delineations to determine wage index values.
Date: 05/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Estimated Reduction in CAH Profitability from Loss of Cost-Based Reimbursement for Swing Beds
Examines the impact of proposed legislation recommending changes to swing bed reimbursements for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) from cost-based to the Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS). Estimates CAH profitability using reimbursement formulas from Medicare cost reports and discusses the characteristics of CAHs most affected by a change in swing bed reimbursement.
Author(s): Drake M. Broussard, Kristin L. Reiter
Date: 05/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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As It Grows, Medicare Advantage is Enrolling More Low-Income and Medically Complex Beneficiaries
Examines how the demographics, socioeconomic status, and clinical characteristics of Medicare Advantage enrollees changed between 2012 and 2015. Explores how these changes related to changes in healthcare utilization and performance during this time.
Author(s): Christie Teigland, Zulkarnain Pulungan, Tanya Shah, Eric Schneider, Shawn Bishop
Date: 05/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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Most Rural Hospitals Have Little Cash Going into COVID
Findings brief exploring two scenarios in which rural hospitals have cash on hand for either 180 days or 7 days, representing the estimate of time the facilities could operate without receiving additional revenue, prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the U.S. Features statistics showing median days cash on hand by Medicare Payment Classification, with breakdowns by 7 types of hospitals, including Critical Access Hospitals and Sole Community Hospitals.
Date: 05/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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CAHMPAS Financial Data Revisions
Provides an overview of new and revised financial indicators included in the Critical Access Hospital Measurement and Performance Assessment System (CAHMPAS) tool. Discusses the revised indicator framework and provides benchmarks and percentiles for all indicators for 2017 and 2018.
Author(s): Savannah Stallings, Ann Howard, George Pink, Kristin Reiter
Date: 05/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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