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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance

Medicare Physician Fees: Geographic Adjustment Indices Are Valid in Design, but Data and Methods Need Refinement
Discusses Medicare's geographic practice cost indices (GPCI). Includes discussion of how these indices impact rural physicians, physician incomes, location, recruitment, and retention.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 03/2005
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Rural Health Research in Progress in the Rural Health Research Centers Program, 9th Edition
Contains information about rural health services research conducted by the Rural Health Research Centers Program of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy.
Date: 02/2005
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Impacts of the Medicare Modernization Act on Rural Health Systems and Beneficiaries
Offers an analysis of rural-pertinent provisions of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. Summarizes legislative and regulatory provisions of special significance to rural beneficiaries and health care systems.
Author(s): Keith Mueller, Andrew Coburn, Charles Fluharty, et al.
Date: 02/2005
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Medicare Fee-for-Service Beneficiary Access to Physician Services: Trends in Utilization of Services, 2000-2002
Reports on Medicare beneficiaries' access to physician services in 2000, 2001, and 2002, with comparison of rural versus urban access.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 02/2005
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Person and Place: The Compounding Effects of Race/Ethnicity and Rurality on Health
Discusses how the research addressing rural Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native populations suggests that disparities in health and in healthcare access found among rural racial/ethnic minority populations are generally more severe than those among urban racial/ethnic minorities.
Author(s): Janice Probst, Charity Moore, Saundra Glover, Michael Samuels
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 94(10), 1695-1703
Date: 10/2004
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Medicare Hospice Care: Modifications to Payment Methodology May Be Warranted
Discusses proposed adjustments to Medicare payments for hospice services. Includes some information on rural aspects of hospice and Medicare reimbursement.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2004
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Medicare: Information Needed to Assess Adequacy of Rate-Setting Methodology for Payments for Hospital Outpatient Services
Examines whether the outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) rate-setting methodology results in payment rates that uniformly reflect hospitals' costs for providing drugs and devices. Includes information specific to rural hospitals and the OPPS.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2004
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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2004 CAH Survey National Data
Presents key results from on a national telephone survey of 500 Critical Access Hospital (CAH) administrators between January and April 2004. Topics addressed include CAH scope of services and any changes in services during the previous two years; organizational relationships and their impact on CAH operations; quality improvement and patient safety activities; and community impact.
Author(s): Michelle Casey, Jill Klingner
Date: 08/2004
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Exploring the Impact of Medicare's Post-Acute Care Transfer Payment Policy on Rural Hospitals
Describes a change in Medicare post-acute transfer payment policy and its impact on rural and urban hospitals. Includes data on the financial impact and hospital discharge behavior before and after the change.
Author(s): Julie A. Schoenman
Date: 07/2004
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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Rural Implications of Medicare's Post-Acute Care Transfer Payment Policy
Reports results of a study that examines the behavioral and financial impacts of a change in Medicare payment to pay acute-care hospital cases in 10 DRGs as transfers instead of discharges when the patient is discharged to a targeted post-acute care (PAC) provider after a short inpatient stay. Also projects the likely financial impact of extending the policy to cover additional DRGs or discharges to swing beds.
Author(s): Julie A. Schoenman
Date: 06/2004
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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