Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Home health

There's No Place Like Home: Home Health Care in Rural America
Recording of testimony by providers of rural home health care and representatives of home health and hospice organizations, in a hearing held by the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging on February 12, 2020. Addresses challenges including workforce shortages and limitations in Medicare coverage for needed services.
Additional links: Testimony of Francis Adams, Testimony of Leigh Ann Howard, Testimony of Warren Hebert, Testimony of William A. Dombi
Date: 02/2020
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Senate - Special Committee on Aging
view details
Variation in Use of Home Health Care among Fee-for-Service Medicare Beneficiaries by Rural-Urban Status and Geographic Region: Assessing the Potential for Unmet Need
County-level analysis of home health care use by Medicare beneficiaries in 2013. Explores characteristics of beneficiaries and their communities. Features statistics with breakdowns by geographic region and 5 levels of population density.
Author(s): Tracy M. Mroz, Lisa A. Garberson, Jennifer L. Wong, et al.
Date: 02/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
January 2020 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) January 2020 meeting. Covers payment adequacy and updates for hospital inpatient and outpatient services, physician and other health professional services, outpatient dialysis services and improving the ESRD payment system, skilled nursing facility services, home health agency services, long-term care hospital services, inpatient rehabilitation facility services, hospice services, and ambulatory surgical center services. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Toolkit: State Strategies to Support Older Adults Aging in Place in Rural Areas
Describes state initiatives helping older rural adults age in place by supporting services allowing them to remain in their homes. Strategies are focused around building the workforce, increasing access to services in rural areas, and addressing social determinants of health. Includes examples of programs that have already been implemented as well as emerging ideas from several states across the country.
Author(s): Neva Kaye, Kristina Long
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Health Resources and Services Administration, National Academy for State Health Policy, National Organizations of State and Local Officials
view details
MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the CY 2020 Home Health PPS Update and Home Infusion Therapy
Comments on a July 18, 2019, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for home health agencies. Includes comments addressing the proposed rural add-on payments for calendar years 2019 through 2022.
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Patterns of Care and Home Health Utilization for Community-Admitted Medicare Patients
Focuses on differences between community-admitted and post-acute care Medicare home health patients over time in order to identify reasons for the increase in community-admitted patients. Addresses differences in rural/urban residency in Tables B.1. and E.1., as well as whether the county of residence is a primary care shortage area.
Author(s): Andrea Wysocki, Valerie Cheh
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
view details
Differences in Care Processes Between Community-Entry Versus Post-Acute Home Health for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
Examines community-entry and post-acute care processes for rural, fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries receiving home health services. Compares data for community-entry and post-acute home health services on the timely initiation of care, number of episodes, and days of care. Offers statistics for community-entry and post-acute home health services describing service provisions by type and episode.
Author(s): Tracy M. Mroz, C. Holly A. Andrilla, Lisa A. Garberson, et al.
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2019
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses opioids, Medicare Part D, Medicare Advantage, Medicare's quality incentive program for hospitals, and payment adequacy for healthcare facilities and services.
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Long-term Care Providers and Services Users in the United States, 2015-2016
Describes the supply, organizational characteristics, staffing, and services offered by providers. Gives descriptions of services users, including residents of nursing homes and residential care communities, patients receiving home health or hospice care, and people who attend adult day care centers. Features statistics including distribution of long-term care providers in 2016, with breakdowns by metropolitan, micropolitan, or other area.
Additional links: State Estimates Supplement
Author(s): L. Harris-Kojetin, M. Sengupta, J.P. Lendon, et al.
Date: 02/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
view details
There's No Place Like Home: Rural Home Health and Hospice Care in Washington State, a Discussion of Challenges and Solutions
Provides an overview of home health and hospice services in rural Washington state. Identifies rural areas and offers information on aging rural populations within the state. Discusses challenges and potential solutions to meeting the needs of rural aging populations in Washington.
Author(s): Patricia Justis
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Washington State Office of Rural Health
view details