Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance
Rural Hospitals and the New Rural Emergency Hospital Designation
An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Janice Walters, Chief Operating Officer for the Rural Health Redesign Center, home of the Rural Emergency Hospital Technical Assistance Center. Offers an overview of Medicare's Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) designation, which became available on January 1, 2023.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Janice Walters, Chief Operating Officer for the Rural Health Redesign Center, home of the Rural Emergency Hospital Technical Assistance Center. Offers an overview of Medicare's Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) designation, which became available on January 1, 2023.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Access to Maternity Providers: Midwives and Birth Centers
Provides an overview of the role of certified nurse-midwives and birth centers in Medicaid and how beneficiaries use these services. Describes policy issues and barriers to expanding access to midwives and birth centers, including payment policies; contracting with managed care organizations; licensure, certification, and accreditation; scope of practice; and limited supply. Includes rural considerations throughout.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Provides an overview of the role of certified nurse-midwives and birth centers in Medicaid and how beneficiaries use these services. Describes policy issues and barriers to expanding access to midwives and birth centers, including payment policies; contracting with managed care organizations; licensure, certification, and accreditation; scope of practice; and limited supply. Includes rural considerations throughout.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Frequently Asked Questions: CMS Waivers, Flexibilities, and the End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
Provides information related to COVID-19 flexibilities after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) that expired May 11, 2023. Addresses issues impacting Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and private insurance including concerns related to COVID-19 vaccines and treatment, telehealth, and more. Includes information about which changes have ended, as well as end dates for those that extend after the PHE.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Provides information related to COVID-19 flexibilities after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) that expired May 11, 2023. Addresses issues impacting Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and private insurance including concerns related to COVID-19 vaccines and treatment, telehealth, and more. Includes information about which changes have ended, as well as end dates for those that extend after the PHE.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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DRCHSD Spotlight on Iron County Medical Center
Discusses how Iron County Medical Center in Pilot Knob, Missouri, improved its financial position and increased operational efficiencies by implementing best practices from the Delta Region Community Health Systems Development Program financial and operational assessment. Transcript available under description.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Discusses how Iron County Medical Center in Pilot Knob, Missouri, improved its financial position and increased operational efficiencies by implementing best practices from the Delta Region Community Health Systems Development Program financial and operational assessment. Transcript available under description.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Mental Health Visits via Telecommunications for Rural Health Clinics & Federally Qualified Health Centers
Details regulatory changes for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) regarding mental health visits provided through real-time audio-video and audio-only technologies. Includes information on coding for RHC and FQHC claims, in-person mental health visit requirements, and exceptions to the in-person requirement.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Details regulatory changes for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) regarding mental health visits provided through real-time audio-video and audio-only technologies. Includes information on coding for RHC and FQHC claims, in-person mental health visit requirements, and exceptions to the in-person requirement.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Increased Wellness and Economic Return of Universal Broadband Infrastructure: A Telehealth Case Study of Ten Southern Rural Counties
Estimates the economic and health impacts of increased rural telehealth availability were broadband infrastructure and services universally available in 10 rural counties across Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. Calculates savings resulting from emergency department visits, lost productivity, preventable admissions, readmissions, and transportation costs for a variety of health conditions, and examines costs and strategies for increasing broadband infrastructure availability.
Author(s): Ry Marcattilio, Christopher Mitchell
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) Community Broadband Networks Initiative, Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative (SRBWI)
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Estimates the economic and health impacts of increased rural telehealth availability were broadband infrastructure and services universally available in 10 rural counties across Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. Calculates savings resulting from emergency department visits, lost productivity, preventable admissions, readmissions, and transportation costs for a variety of health conditions, and examines costs and strategies for increasing broadband infrastructure availability.
Author(s): Ry Marcattilio, Christopher Mitchell
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) Community Broadband Networks Initiative, Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative (SRBWI)
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Evaluation of the Maternal Opioid Misuse (MOM) Model Second Annual Report (Implementation Year 1)
Provides an overview of the Maternal Opioid Misuse Model, which provides evidence-based integrated care and care coordination for pregnant and postpartum Medicaid beneficiaries with opioid use disorder (OUD). Describes activities MOM Model awardees undertook during the MOM Model's first implementation year, July 1, 2021–June 30, 2022. Discusses barriers pregnant and postpartum people with OUD face in accessing high-quality, continuous care, specifically in rural areas.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Insight Policy Research
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Provides an overview of the Maternal Opioid Misuse Model, which provides evidence-based integrated care and care coordination for pregnant and postpartum Medicaid beneficiaries with opioid use disorder (OUD). Describes activities MOM Model awardees undertook during the MOM Model's first implementation year, July 1, 2021–June 30, 2022. Discusses barriers pregnant and postpartum people with OUD face in accessing high-quality, continuous care, specifically in rural areas.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Insight Policy Research
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Closed, Converted, Merged, and New Hospitals with Medicare Rural Designations: January 2018-November 2022
Provides an overview of four Medicare rural hospital designations - Critical Access Hospital, Low-Volume Hospital, Medicare Dependent Hospital, and Sole Community Hospital - and factors related to financial distress that these designations are intended to address. Explores the number of rural-designated hospitals that have closed, merged, converted, or opened between January 2018-November 2022 and compares the number of rural-designated hospitals with the number of non-designated hospitals. Outlines considerations for Congress regarding policy options for rural hospitals and access to healthcare services in rural areas.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Provides an overview of four Medicare rural hospital designations - Critical Access Hospital, Low-Volume Hospital, Medicare Dependent Hospital, and Sole Community Hospital - and factors related to financial distress that these designations are intended to address. Explores the number of rural-designated hospitals that have closed, merged, converted, or opened between January 2018-November 2022 and compares the number of rural-designated hospitals with the number of non-designated hospitals. Outlines considerations for Congress regarding policy options for rural hospitals and access to healthcare services in rural areas.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Medicaid: Characteristics of and Expenditures for Adults with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities
Describes the health and demographic characteristics of adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD) enrolled in Medicaid home- and community-based programs in 2019 in six states: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. Examines average per-beneficiary healthcare expenditures for I/DD beneficiaries in these states. Highlights the percentage of I/DD beneficiaries in rural areas of each state.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Describes the health and demographic characteristics of adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD) enrolled in Medicaid home- and community-based programs in 2019 in six states: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. Examines average per-beneficiary healthcare expenditures for I/DD beneficiaries in these states. Highlights the percentage of I/DD beneficiaries in rural areas of each state.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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April 2023 MACPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission's (MACPAC) April 2023 meeting. Covers automatic adjustments to Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) allotments, DSH third-party payer policy, integrating care for dually eligible beneficiaries, access to Medicaid coverage and care for adults leaving incarceration, adult access to covered dental benefits, access to home- and community-based services, and an update on the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) unwinding. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Transcript from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission's (MACPAC) April 2023 meeting. Covers automatic adjustments to Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) allotments, DSH third-party payer policy, integrating care for dually eligible beneficiaries, access to Medicaid coverage and care for adults leaving incarceration, adult access to covered dental benefits, access to home- and community-based services, and an update on the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) unwinding. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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