This website is being reviewed for updates. Some information is offline. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance

How the Federal Government Supports State and Local Efforts to Improve Rural Health: A Q&A with Tom Morris
Provides a Q&A with Tom Morris, associate administrator of rural health policy at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Focuses on how government agencies are addressing rural hospital closures, population health, rural workforce development, and the opioid epidemic.
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
view details
HELP Committee Executive Session: S. 1199, S. 1173, and S.1895
Congressional hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, Pensions (HELP) Committee focused on: the Poison Center Network Enhancement Act of 2019, Emergency Medical Services for Children Reauthorization Act of 2019, and Lower Health Care Costs Act of 2019. Focuses on ending surprise medical billing, creating price transparency, increasing prescription drug competition, improving public health, and improving health information exchange. Legislation would extend funding for community health centers, the National Health Service Corps, and the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) Program. Addresses rural throughout.
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
view details
MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System and the Long-term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System for FY 2020
Comments on a May 3, 2019, Federal Register proposed rule revising the hospital inpatient and long-term care hospital (LTCH) prospective payment systems. Addresses proposed changes to the hospital wage index, including rural floor calculations, uncompensated care measurements that affect disproportionate share (DSH) payments, inpatient and outpatient proposals related to drugs and devices, and the LTCH prospective payment system.
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Strengthening Health Care in the U.S. Territories for Today and Into the Future
Provides a hearing of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Health regarding healthcare issues in the U.S. territories with a focus on Medicaid. Addresses differences between state and territory Medicaid federal funding, health workforce shortages, the effects of recent hurricanes on healthcare, healthcare needs, prescription drug costs, and more. Includes testimony from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration, American Samoa State Agency, Guam Division of Public Welfare, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands State Medicaid Agency, and the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Human Services.
Additional links: Angela Avila Testimony, Maria Theresa Arcangel Testimony, Sandra King Young Testimony
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Health
view details
In Support of Family Caregivers: A Snapshot of Five States
Examines policies developed in Washington, Minnesota, Hawaii, Tennessee, and Maine to support family caregivers, including those in rural areas. Features demographic characteristics of the states profiled, state expenditures by the Administration for Community Living in FY2016 on older adults and caregivers, and data on state Medicaid policies affecting these groups.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Jennifer Aufill, Julia Burgdorf, Jennifer Wolff
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organizations: Milbank Memorial Fund, The John A. Hartford Foundation
view details
Serving Rural America: How Health Insurance Providers Break Down Barriers to Ensure Access to Care
Highlights healthcare challenges in the rural U.S. and provides examples of how health insurance providers have helped address those challenges through telehealth, remote patient monitoring, incentives for rural providers, payment models, and targeting the opioid epidemic. Offers recommendations for state and federal policymakers related to rural recruitment, telehealth, insurance affordability, and population health.
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: AHIP
view details
Lower Health Care Costs Act
Recording of a U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing on the Lower Health Care Costs Act, which covers access to healthcare, surprise medical bills, market competition, drug prices, and other issues. Includes testimony from an organization that works primarily with small and rural practices, the American Hospital Association, American Enterprise Institute, and others.
Additional links: Benedic N. Ippolito Testimony, Sean Cavanaugh Testimony, Tom Nickels Testimony
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
view details
MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Skilled Nursing Facility PPS for FY 2020
Comments on an April 25, 2019, Federal Register proposed rule updating payments for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) and SNF quality reporting. Addresses proposed changes to the wage index system that would adjust for geographical differences, potentially impacting rural areas.
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on Hospice for FY 2020
Comments on an April 25, 2019, Federal Register proposed rule updating payments for hospice and hospice quality reporting. Addresses proposed changes to the wage index system that would adjust for geographical differences, potentially impacting rural areas.
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility PPS for FY 2020
Comments on an April 24, 2019, Federal Register proposed rule updating payments for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs) and IRF quality reporting. Addresses proposed changes to the wage index system that would adjust for geographical differences, potentially impacting rural areas.
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details