Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance
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
view details
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
view details
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
view details
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
view details
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
view details
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
view details
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)
view details
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)
view details
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
view details
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
view details
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
view details
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
view details
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
view details
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
view details
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
view details
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
view details
April 2023 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) April 2023 meeting. Covers high prices of drugs covered under Medicare Part B, draft recommendations for reforming Medicare's wage index systems, aligning fee-for-service payment rates across ambulatory settings, leveraging Medicare policies to address social determinants of health, assessing post-sale rebates for prescription drugs in Medicare Part D, and assessing the need for Medicare safety net payments for skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies. Features discussions on draft reports regarding a prototype design for a post-acute care prospective payment system, telehealth in Medicare, and behavioral health in Medicare. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) April 2023 meeting. Covers high prices of drugs covered under Medicare Part B, draft recommendations for reforming Medicare's wage index systems, aligning fee-for-service payment rates across ambulatory settings, leveraging Medicare policies to address social determinants of health, assessing post-sale rebates for prescription drugs in Medicare Part D, and assessing the need for Medicare safety net payments for skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies. Features discussions on draft reports regarding a prototype design for a post-acute care prospective payment system, telehealth in Medicare, and behavioral health in Medicare. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Electronic Health Information Exchange: Use Has Increased, but Is Lower for Small and Rural Providers
Explores states' use of Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act funding for health information exchange efforts. Examines the extent to which the use of electronic health information exchange has changed since the enactment of the HITECH Act and federal efforts that aim to address challenges to the electronic exchange of health information. Discusses differences in the electronic exchange of information between small and rural hospitals and larger, non-rural hospitals.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Explores states' use of Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act funding for health information exchange efforts. Examines the extent to which the use of electronic health information exchange has changed since the enactment of the HITECH Act and federal efforts that aim to address challenges to the electronic exchange of health information. Discusses differences in the electronic exchange of information between small and rural hospitals and larger, non-rural hospitals.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details