Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare facilities
The Impact of COVID-19 Funding on Profitability of Critical Access Hospitals
Examines the impacts of COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) funding on Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Compares CAH operating margins in the six years prior to the pandemic (April 2015 - March 2020) to operating margins during the pandemic (April 2020 - March 2022). Offers estimates to what CAH profitability would have been if CAHs did not receive PHE funding.
Author(s): Laura McFadyen, George Pink, Susie Gurzenda, Kristie W. Thompson, Kristin L. Reiter
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Examines the impacts of COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) funding on Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Compares CAH operating margins in the six years prior to the pandemic (April 2015 - March 2020) to operating margins during the pandemic (April 2020 - March 2022). Offers estimates to what CAH profitability would have been if CAHs did not receive PHE funding.
Author(s): Laura McFadyen, George Pink, Susie Gurzenda, Kristie W. Thompson, Kristin L. Reiter
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Capital Planning for Addressing Rural Health Needs
Recording of a June 2023 webinar discussing the connection between rural health topics and facility design. Profiles Desert Sage Health Center, a health center serving rural Idaho, and how it tailored the structure of its new facility to suit community needs. Outlines costs that should be considered when planning a capital project and how those costs may present unique challenges in rural areas. Free registration is required to access the webinar recording.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Capital Link
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Recording of a June 2023 webinar discussing the connection between rural health topics and facility design. Profiles Desert Sage Health Center, a health center serving rural Idaho, and how it tailored the structure of its new facility to suit community needs. Outlines costs that should be considered when planning a capital project and how those costs may present unique challenges in rural areas. Free registration is required to access the webinar recording.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Capital Link
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Critical Access Hospitals: Views on How Medicare Payment and Other Factors Affect Behavioral Health Services
Provides an overview of Medicare payment policies for care provided by Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Explores how CAHs provide behavioral health services in their communities. Summarizes findings from interviews with officials from 10 CAHs, stakeholder organizations, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) regarding how Medicare payment policies and other factors affect CAHs' ability to provide behavioral health services.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Provides an overview of Medicare payment policies for care provided by Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Explores how CAHs provide behavioral health services in their communities. Summarizes findings from interviews with officials from 10 CAHs, stakeholder organizations, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) regarding how Medicare payment policies and other factors affect CAHs' ability to provide behavioral health services.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Progress and Ongoing Challenges to Electronic Public Health Reporting Among Non-Federal Acute Care Hospitals
Data brief examining public health reporting among acute care hospitals, including rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), in 2022. Discusses challenges with the exchange of electronic health information, such as lack of capacity to exchange electronically, interface issues, and differing vocabulary standards. Presents data on the mean number of public health reporting types completed by hospital size, CAH status, rural/urban location, and independent/system affiliation. Appendix Table A4 contains data on the number of hospitals surveyed that reported at least one reporting challenge by state.
Author(s): Chelsea Richwine
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Data brief examining public health reporting among acute care hospitals, including rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), in 2022. Discusses challenges with the exchange of electronic health information, such as lack of capacity to exchange electronically, interface issues, and differing vocabulary standards. Presents data on the mean number of public health reporting types completed by hospital size, CAH status, rural/urban location, and independent/system affiliation. Appendix Table A4 contains data on the number of hospitals surveyed that reported at least one reporting challenge by state.
Author(s): Chelsea Richwine
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Assessing the Effectiveness of Policies to Improve Access to Primary Care for Underserved Populations: Case Study Analysis: Kanawha County, West Virginia
Case study of policy initiatives to increase access to primary care, focusing on Kanawha County, West Virginia. Discusses workforce shortages, healthcare access, structural barriers to primary care, healthcare affordability, and more.
Author(s): Maanasa Kona, Jalisa Clark, Emma Walsh-Alker, Megan Houston
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
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Case study of policy initiatives to increase access to primary care, focusing on Kanawha County, West Virginia. Discusses workforce shortages, healthcare access, structural barriers to primary care, healthcare affordability, and more.
Author(s): Maanasa Kona, Jalisa Clark, Emma Walsh-Alker, Megan Houston
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
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How a Black Community Brought Affordable Health Care and Clean Water to Rural South Carolina in the 1970s
Reports on a predominately Black rural community in South Carolina that worked together to provide indoor plumbing, build a health center, and improve health outcomes of their citizens in the 1970s.
Author(s): Olivia Lewis
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Community Health Centers
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Reports on a predominately Black rural community in South Carolina that worked together to provide indoor plumbing, build a health center, and improve health outcomes of their citizens in the 1970s.
Author(s): Olivia Lewis
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Community Health Centers
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Addressing the Impact of Rural Hospital Closures on Maternal and Infant Health
Blog post discussing the impact of rural hospital closures on rural maternal and infant health outcomes. Identifies risk-appropriate strategies to ensure the provision of maternal and infant healthcare at facilities that best meet each individual's level of health risk. Covers birthing centers, hub-and-spoke models, and telehealth models to preserve access to care.
Author(s): Lexa Giragosian
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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Blog post discussing the impact of rural hospital closures on rural maternal and infant health outcomes. Identifies risk-appropriate strategies to ensure the provision of maternal and infant healthcare at facilities that best meet each individual's level of health risk. Covers birthing centers, hub-and-spoke models, and telehealth models to preserve access to care.
Author(s): Lexa Giragosian
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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Updated Simulation of a Prospective Payment System for Post-Acute Care
Updates a potential unified post-acute care (PAC) prospective payment system (PPS) and estimates the impact of a PAC PPS on providers and Medicare beneficiaries. Presents data comparing the estimated costs payments to actual payments by rurality and region.
Author(s): Doug Wissoker, Bowen Garrett
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, Urban Institute
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Updates a potential unified post-acute care (PAC) prospective payment system (PPS) and estimates the impact of a PAC PPS on providers and Medicare beneficiaries. Presents data comparing the estimated costs payments to actual payments by rurality and region.
Author(s): Doug Wissoker, Bowen Garrett
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, Urban Institute
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System, June 2023
Evaluates Medicare payment issues and provides recommendations to the U.S. Congress. Chapter 7 presents a report on the use, payment, and quality of telehealth services that Medicare pays for separately under the physician fee schedule (PFS). Also includes chapters on the cost of drugs covered under Medicare Part B, postsale rebates for prescription drugs in Medicare Part D, standardized benefits in Medicare Advantage plans, future directions for Medicare Advantage payment policy, disparities in outcomes for beneficiaries with different social risks, Medicare behavioral health services, the alignment of fee-for-service payment rates across ambulatory settings, and the evaluation of a post-acute care prospective payment system prototype.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Evaluates Medicare payment issues and provides recommendations to the U.S. Congress. Chapter 7 presents a report on the use, payment, and quality of telehealth services that Medicare pays for separately under the physician fee schedule (PFS). Also includes chapters on the cost of drugs covered under Medicare Part B, postsale rebates for prescription drugs in Medicare Part D, standardized benefits in Medicare Advantage plans, future directions for Medicare Advantage payment policy, disparities in outcomes for beneficiaries with different social risks, Medicare behavioral health services, the alignment of fee-for-service payment rates across ambulatory settings, and the evaluation of a post-acute care prospective payment system prototype.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, June 2023
Semi-annual report to Congress from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC). Covers recommendations on disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments, care integration for people who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare, access to Medicaid coverage for adults leaving incarceration, and barriers to Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS). Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Semi-annual report to Congress from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC). Covers recommendations on disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments, care integration for people who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare, access to Medicaid coverage for adults leaving incarceration, and barriers to Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS). Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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