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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance

Health, United States, 2006: With Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans
Presents an annual overview of national trends in health statistics. Covers health status and determinants, healthcare utilization, access, and expenditures. Includes data on rural areas - see index under "metropolitan/nonmetropolitan data." 2006 edition includes a special feature on pain.
Date: 11/2006
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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The Implementation of Pay-For-Performance in Rural Hospitals: Lessons from the Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration Project
Reports the findings of a national study designed to identify institutional, organizational, and environmental factors that influence the experience of rural hospitals in the Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration Project.
Author(s): Walter Gregg, Ira Moscovice, Denise Remus
Date: 09/2006
Sponsoring organization: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
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A Primer on the Occupational Mix Adjustment to the Medicare Hospital Wage Index
Focuses on the occupational mix adjustment (OMA) to the labor-related share in the hospital inpatient prospective payment system. Explains what the OMA is, why it is needed, and how it has been calculated. Discusses reasons the effect of the OMA has been less than some rural advocates anticipated.
Author(s): Kristin Reiter, Rebecca Slifkin, Mark Holmes
Date: 09/2006
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Quality and Performance Improvement Grant Activities Under the Flex Program
Describes quality and performance improvement activities proposed by states during the 2005 grant year under the Medicare Rural Health Flexibility Program (Flex Program).
Date: 08/2006
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Medicare Physician Payments: Trends in Service Utilization, Spending, and Fees Prompt Consideration of Alternative Payment Approaches
Statement discussing the sustainable growth rate (SGR) system, which Medicare uses to determine annual changes to physician fees. Includes some rural-specific information.
Additional links: Full Report
Author(s): A. Bruce Steinwald
Date: 07/2006
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Increasing the Value of Medicare
Examines issues affecting the Medicare program and makes recommendations to the Congress. Topics covered include care coordination, pricing accuracy in the hospice and physician payment systems, quality measures in home health, gathering data on outpatient therapy, Medicare Advantage, the Part D prescription drug program, and cost-effectiveness analysis.
Date: 06/2006
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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General Hospitals: Operational and Clinical Changes Largely Unaffected by Presence of Competing Specialty Hospitals
Provides information on the competitive response of general hospitals to specialty hospitals. Addresses rural general hospitals response compared to urban general hospitals.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 05/2006
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Medicaid and Its Importance to Rural Health
Presents an overview of the impact that Medicaid has on rural health. Covers the role of Medicaid in rural areas as a source of health insurance, as a revenue source for rural providers, and as a contributor to the community by supporting its health care system and local economy.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller, Andrew F. Coburn, A. Clinton MacKinney, et al.
Date: 05/2006
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Rural Dental Practice: A Tale of Four States
Reports the findings of a study investigating rural dentist issues, such as: demography, training, practice characteristics, staff, and job satisfaction in Alabama, California, Maine, and Missouri.
Additional links: Project Summary
Author(s): C. Holly A. Andrilla, Denise M. Lishner, L. Gary Hart
Date: 03/2006
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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A Review of State Flex Program Plans, 2004-2005
Examines the objectives and project activities proposed by states in their Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex Program) grant applications for Fiscal Year 2004 to strengthen the rural healthcare infrastructure in their states.
Author(s): Stephenie Loux, John Gale, Anush Yousefian, Andrew Coburn, Walter Gregg
Date: 03/2006
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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