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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance

Rural Health on Life Support - Episode Three: Medicaid Unwinding
Podcast episode discussing the role of Medicaid in providing health insurance in rural areas. Covers the potential impact of Medicaid cuts on rural areas, the impact of Medicaid expansion on pediatric and maternal outcomes, and Medicaid unwinding after the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organization: Impact! Communications, Inc.
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2021 Quality Payment Program Experience Report
Reports on the clinician experience for those participating in the Quality Payment Program in 2021. Presents data on Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) eligibility and participation rates for clinicians in small practices and rural areas, as well as their mean payment adjustment scores.
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Delta Region Community Health Systems Development (DRCHSD) Program: Revenue Cycle Management Best Practices Guide
Offers rural hospital executives and management teams best practice concepts in revenue cycle management by assisting them in identifying performance improvement within their hospitals and departments. Provides State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) directors and Flex Program coordinators a better understanding of the revenue cycle best practices to help them design educational training programs to support rural hospital administrators with performance improvement.
Additional links: Check List
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organizations: BKD CPAs & Advisors, National Rural Health Resource Center
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Provision of Social Care Services by US Hospitals
Explores the extent to which social care services are provided by hospitals. Analyzes data from the 2018 American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey and Community Benefit Insight to identify the number and type of social care services provided by hospitals. Examines whether community and hospital characteristics, including bed size, system affiliation, rurality, neighborhood median income, and state community benefit requirements, are associated with these services.
Author(s): Bradley Iott, Denise Anthony
Citation: The Milbank Quarterly, 101(2), 601-635
Date: 06/2023
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Nursing Home Staffing Study: Comprehensive Report
Examines the level and type of staffing needed to promote acceptable nursing home quality and safety. Explores the potential implications and feasibility of increased staffing and costs to nursing homes. Presents four options for minimum staffing requirements and their cost, quality, and safety impacts. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Additional links: Literature Review Results Table, State Minimum Staffing Requirement
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Abt Associates, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Arkansas Rural Hospital Assessment: Final Report
An assessment of 18 rural Arkansas hospitals with regard to their financial stability, workforce challenges, facilities, distance from other facilities, sustainability, and more. Compares Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) and non-CAHs in the state. Discusses decision-making around the Rural Emergency Hospital designation.
Additional links: Overview
Author(s): Alvarez & Marsal Public Sector Services LLC
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration
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Impact of Higher Payments for Rural Home Health Episodes on Rehospitalizations
Examines the impact of home health rural add-on payments on beneficiary outcomes, specifically on rehospitalizations. Uses Medicare data from 2007 to 2014 to compare rehospitalizations between rural and urban post-acute home health episodes before and after the implementation of the add-on payments in 2010. Discusses the implications of the findings on home health payment policy.
Author(s): Lacey Loomer, Momotazur Rahman, Tracy M. Mroz, Pedro L. Gozalo, Vincent Mor
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(3), 604-610
Date: 06/2023
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Oral Health Disparities Through the Lifespan: Challenges and Opportunities
Recording of a June 7, 2023, conference session on oral health disparities as part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Health Equity Conference. Features a presentation from the CMS Office of the Administrator comparing differences in rural and urban dental opioid prescribing to adolescent/young adult and adult Medicaid/CHIP enrollees by patient and county characteristics. Transcript available in the video description.
Additional links: Carla Shoff, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of the Administrator - Presentation Slides
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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A Rural Accountable Care Organization's Journey
Profiles South East Rural Physicians Alliance Accountable Care Organization (SERPA‐ACO), a physician‐led ACO consisting of 16 Nebraska clinics - 13 of which are rural. Describes various value-based payment models SERPA-ACO clinics participated in and activities the clinics use to succeed in these models. Includes recommendations for primary care clinics considering joining an ACO.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Expanded Report to Congress: Non-Emergency Medical Transportation in Medicaid, 2018–2021
Examines the Medicaid analysis of non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) using Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) data from 2018-2021. Explores the number and percentage of Medicaid beneficiaries using NEMT, the average number of NEMT "ride days" per NEMT user per month enrolled in Medicaid, the types of medical services accessed when using NEMT, monthly trends in the use of NEMT versus telehealth services before and during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), and the volume of NEMT services used by type of NEMT delivery model. Offers recommendations for states and local stakeholders regarding Medicaid coverage of NEMT. Presents data by state and by beneficiary characteristics, including Medicaid eligibility category, health conditions, and urban-rural location.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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