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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Home health

Trends in the Health Workforce Supply in the Rural U.S.
Describes trends in the supply and distribution of clinicians in primary care, behavioral health, and obstetrical care, as well as dentists, surgeons, community health workers, and home health aides. Examines the availability of workforce data for professions important for rural communities, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using various health workforce data sources for rural health research. Features statistics with breakdowns by 5 levels of population density.
Author(s): C. Holly A. Andrilla, Sara C. Woolcock, Lisa A. Garberson, et al.
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Medicare Payment Basics: Home Health Care Services Payment System
Overview of Medicare payments for home health care services. Includes information on rate-setting and payments for quality reporting and performance. Describes the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) and the home health resource groups (HHRGs) based on clinical and functional status.
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Durable Medical Equipment Payment System
Overview of Medicare payments for medical equipment used to treat beneficiaries at home. Defines durable medical equipment (DME), details the DME fee schedule, and discusses the competitive bidding program (CBP) for DME. Includes information on adjustments to fee schedule payment rates outside of competitive bidding areas (CBAs).
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Health Care Worker Recruitment and Retention in New York State: What Are the Issues?
Report summarizing health workforce recruitment and retention difficulties experienced by providers in New York State, and reasons for these difficulties. Examines challenges in hospitals, nursing homes, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and other facilities, especially in rural areas of New York.
Additional links: Infographic
Author(s): Robert Martiniano, Sage Shirey
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Workforce Studies
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Home Health Prospective Payment System for CY 2025
Comments on a July 3, 2024, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for home health agencies. Includes comments regarding permanent and temporary budget-neutrality adjustments, the plan of care development and scope of services home health patients receive, and the proposed adoption of the core-based statistical area (CBSA) delineations for the home health wage index.
Date: 08/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Home Health Utilization in the Veterans Health Administration: Are there Rural and Urban Differences?
Examines home health usage and access among veterans in rural and urban areas. Utilizes 2019-2021 Veterans Health Administration (VA) data to analyze rural versus urban home health use, with data broken down by patient sociodemographic variables as well as number of visits.
Author(s): Heather Davila, Bradely Mayfield, Michelle A. Mengeling, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
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Fewer Hospitalized Medicare Beneficiaries Are Receiving Recommended Home Health Care
Describes trends in Medicare patients' receipt of recommended home health services following a hospitalization between 2016 and 2022. Presents data on home health referral completion rates by gender, race, dual eligibility status, rural/urban location, and social deprivation index groups. Discusses factors that could influence home health utilization trends and considerations for policymakers.
Author(s): Marie Steele-Adjognon, Clarence Kelley, Lane Koenig
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Commonwealth Fund, KNG Health Consulting, LLC
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MedPAC Data Book: Health Care Spending and the Medicare Program, 2024
Provides an overview of Medicare spending and highlights data on Medicare beneficiary demographics, dual-eligible beneficiaries, quality of care provided through the Medicare program, and other payer liability. Examines settings of care, including rural-specific provider sites, as they relate to spending, access to care, and profit margins. Compares rural and urban beneficiaries and providers throughout. Chart 6-2 addresses rural hospital closures.
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Standing Technical Expert Panel for the Development, Evaluation, and Maintenance of Post-Acute Care (PAC) and Hospice Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Measurement Sets: Summary Report
Describes a December 15, 2023, Technical Expert Panel (TEP) regarding the development of additional cross-setting measures for the Post-Acute Care (PAC) and Hospice Quality Reporting Programs (QRPs), and filling measurement gaps with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Universal Foundation measures. Summarizes TEP comments on adding measures to PAC and Hospice QRPs in four domains: 1) behavioral and mental health, 2) patient experience of care, 3) pain management, and 4) immunization. Covers panelists' discussions on the appropriateness of the existing measure set and potential new measures, setting-specific considerations, data sources, and other topics related to each domain. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Abt Associates, Acumen, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Estimated Impacts of Multiple Payment Policies on Rural-Serving Home Health Agencies
Describes the estimated impact of three major Medicare home health payment policy changes - implementation of the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), revisions to rural add-on payments, and the demonstration and nationwide expansion of the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) model - on home health agency (HHA) reimbursement for Medicare beneficiaries. Compares the estimated impact of these payment policy changes by HHA rural-serving status, U. S. Census Division, profit status, quality rating, and episode volume.
Author(s): Tracy M. Mroz, Lisa A. Garberson, C. Holly A. Andrilla, Davis G. Patterson
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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