Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Hospice and palliative care
MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Hospice Services: Chapter 10
Discusses payment adequacy for hospice and palliative support services. Includes data on average costs by day and aggregate margins by urban and rural status, as well as demographics on Medicare decedents who used hospice during 2010 and between 2019-2024. Compares the actual hospice utilization rates in micropolitan, rural adjacent, rural nonadjacent, and frontier areas to urban hospice utilization rates.
Date: 03/2026
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Discusses payment adequacy for hospice and palliative support services. Includes data on average costs by day and aggregate margins by urban and rural status, as well as demographics on Medicare decedents who used hospice during 2010 and between 2019-2024. Compares the actual hospice utilization rates in micropolitan, rural adjacent, rural nonadjacent, and frontier areas to urban hospice utilization rates.
Date: 03/2026
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2026
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses payment adequacy for Medicare fee-for-service payment systems, Medicare Advantage (MA), and Medicare Part D. Includes mandated reports on the impact of regulatory changes to the home health prospective payment system and dual-eligible special needs plans.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses payment adequacy for Medicare fee-for-service payment systems, Medicare Advantage (MA), and Medicare Part D. Includes mandated reports on the impact of regulatory changes to the home health prospective payment system and dual-eligible special needs plans.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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March 2026 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) March 2026 meeting. Covers research and proposals related to the Medicare ground ambulance data collection system, access to hospice and certain complex palliative services for beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease and beneficiaries with cancer, provider participation in Medicare Advantage (MA) networks, MA encounter data in risk adjustment, the complexity of Medicare enrollment decisions for beneficiaries, and Medicare Part B premium payment basics. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Additional links: Mandated Report: Assessment of the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) March 2026 meeting. Covers research and proposals related to the Medicare ground ambulance data collection system, access to hospice and certain complex palliative services for beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease and beneficiaries with cancer, provider participation in Medicare Advantage (MA) networks, MA encounter data in risk adjustment, the complexity of Medicare enrollment decisions for beneficiaries, and Medicare Part B premium payment basics. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Additional links: Mandated Report: Assessment of the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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NACH Facts and Figures: 2025 Edition
Provides an overview of hospice and palliative care in the United States. Includes information and data on patient characteristics, access to care, reimbursement, barriers and facilitators to care, quality of care, and more. Includes data on geographic locations of hospice services and patients.
Date: 02/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Alliance for Care at Home
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Provides an overview of hospice and palliative care in the United States. Includes information and data on patient characteristics, access to care, reimbursement, barriers and facilitators to care, quality of care, and more. Includes data on geographic locations of hospice services and patients.
Date: 02/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Alliance for Care at Home
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2025-2026 Pre-Rulemaking Measure Review Final Recommendations Report
Reviews the 24 pre-rulemaking quality measures the Battelle's Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) considered during the 2025-2026 Pre-Rulemaking Measure Review (PRMR) cycle. Discusses measures for clinician, hospital, and post-acute care/long-term care programs. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Date: 02/2026
Sponsoring organization: Partnership for Quality Measurement
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Reviews the 24 pre-rulemaking quality measures the Battelle's Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) considered during the 2025-2026 Pre-Rulemaking Measure Review (PRMR) cycle. Discusses measures for clinician, hospital, and post-acute care/long-term care programs. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Date: 02/2026
Sponsoring organization: Partnership for Quality Measurement
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January 2026 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) January 2026 meeting. Covers payment adequacy and updates for physician and other health professional services, hospital inpatient and outpatient services, skilled nursing facility services, home health agency services, inpatient rehabilitation facility services, outpatient dialysis services, and hospice services. Discusses status reports on Medicare Part D, ambulatory surgical centers, and the Medicare Advantage program, as well as mandated reports on changes to the home health prospective payment system and dual-eligible special needs plans. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) January 2026 meeting. Covers payment adequacy and updates for physician and other health professional services, hospital inpatient and outpatient services, skilled nursing facility services, home health agency services, inpatient rehabilitation facility services, outpatient dialysis services, and hospice services. Discusses status reports on Medicare Part D, ambulatory surgical centers, and the Medicare Advantage program, as well as mandated reports on changes to the home health prospective payment system and dual-eligible special needs plans. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Hospice Care Chartbook 2025
Provides an overview of hospice care, including patient demographics, characteristics of live discharges, organizational trends, and Medicare spending for hospice services. Includes charts and graphs throughout, as well as state-by-state data. Slides 16 and 34 highlight the percentage of Medicare decedents that did and did not use hospice in 2024 and the number of hospices between 2019 and 2024 by rurality, respectively.
Date: 12/2025
Sponsoring organizations: KNG Health Consulting, National Alliance for Care at Home, Research Institute for Home Care
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Provides an overview of hospice care, including patient demographics, characteristics of live discharges, organizational trends, and Medicare spending for hospice services. Includes charts and graphs throughout, as well as state-by-state data. Slides 16 and 34 highlight the percentage of Medicare decedents that did and did not use hospice in 2024 and the number of hospices between 2019 and 2024 by rurality, respectively.
Date: 12/2025
Sponsoring organizations: KNG Health Consulting, National Alliance for Care at Home, Research Institute for Home Care
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December 2025 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) December 2025 meeting. Covers payment adequacy and updates for physician and other health professional services, hospital inpatient and outpatient services, Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs), post-acute care, skilled nursing facility services, inpatient rehabilitation facility services, home health services, hospice services, and outpatient dialysis services. Includes discussions on improving Medicare payment approaches and mandated reports on the impact of recent changes to the home health prospective payment system and an assessment of the Medicare ground ambulance data collection system.
Additional links: Assessing Payment Adequacy and Updating Payments: Hospital Inpatient and Outpatient Services; Mandated Report on Rural Emergency Hospitals; And Update on Site-neutral Payments - Presentation Slides, Mandated Report: Assessment of the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System - Presentation Slides
Date: 12/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) December 2025 meeting. Covers payment adequacy and updates for physician and other health professional services, hospital inpatient and outpatient services, Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs), post-acute care, skilled nursing facility services, inpatient rehabilitation facility services, home health services, hospice services, and outpatient dialysis services. Includes discussions on improving Medicare payment approaches and mandated reports on the impact of recent changes to the home health prospective payment system and an assessment of the Medicare ground ambulance data collection system.
Additional links: Assessing Payment Adequacy and Updating Payments: Hospital Inpatient and Outpatient Services; Mandated Report on Rural Emergency Hospitals; And Update on Site-neutral Payments - Presentation Slides, Mandated Report: Assessment of the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System - Presentation Slides
Date: 12/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Payment Basics
Series of briefs providing an of Medicare payment systems. Covers payments systems including Accountable Care Organizations (ACO), Critical Access Hospitals (CAH), Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics, hospital acute inpatient services, and more.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Series of briefs providing an of Medicare payment systems. Covers payments systems including Accountable Care Organizations (ACO), Critical Access Hospitals (CAH), Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics, hospital acute inpatient services, and more.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Directory of Mississippi Health Facilities
Directory of Mississippi health facilities with address, phone number, and accreditation status if applicable, current as of November 5, 2025. Includes a list of rural health facilities on pages 87-98.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Mississippi State Department of Health
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Directory of Mississippi health facilities with address, phone number, and accreditation status if applicable, current as of November 5, 2025. Includes a list of rural health facilities on pages 87-98.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Mississippi State Department of Health
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