Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Hospitals
December 2024 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) December 2024 meeting. Covers payment adequacy and updates for physician and other health professional services, hospital inpatient and outpatient services, Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs), skilled nursing facility services, inpatient rehabilitation facility services, home health services, hospice services, and outpatient dialysis services.
Additional links: Assessing Payment Adequacy and Updating Payments: Hospital Inpatient and Outpatient Services; and Mandated Report on Rural Emergency Hospitals - Presentation Slides, Assessing Payment Adequacy and Updating Payments: Skilled Nursing Facility Services - Presentation Slides
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) December 2024 meeting. Covers payment adequacy and updates for physician and other health professional services, hospital inpatient and outpatient services, Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs), skilled nursing facility services, inpatient rehabilitation facility services, home health services, hospice services, and outpatient dialysis services.
Additional links: Assessing Payment Adequacy and Updating Payments: Hospital Inpatient and Outpatient Services; and Mandated Report on Rural Emergency Hospitals - Presentation Slides, Assessing Payment Adequacy and Updating Payments: Skilled Nursing Facility Services - Presentation Slides
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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The Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (PARHM): Fourth Annual Evaluation Report
Evaluates the fourth performance year of the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (PARHM), an initiative designed to test if global budgets can help rural hospitals improve their financial viability, provide flexibility to meet locally defined community health needs, and reduce overall healthcare spending. Provides an overview of the model and describes the implementation experience of participating hospitals and payers. Presents a descriptive quantitative assessment of financial performance, spending and utilization, access to care, and quality of care outcomes from 2016, the model's baseline, through 2022. Includes three case studies discussing three themes: experiences with global budget reconciliation, behavioral health transformation, and interactions and alignment between PARHM and other value-based care programs.
Additional links: Appendix, Findings at a Glance
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Evaluates the fourth performance year of the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (PARHM), an initiative designed to test if global budgets can help rural hospitals improve their financial viability, provide flexibility to meet locally defined community health needs, and reduce overall healthcare spending. Provides an overview of the model and describes the implementation experience of participating hospitals and payers. Presents a descriptive quantitative assessment of financial performance, spending and utilization, access to care, and quality of care outcomes from 2016, the model's baseline, through 2022. Includes three case studies discussing three themes: experiences with global budget reconciliation, behavioral health transformation, and interactions and alignment between PARHM and other value-based care programs.
Additional links: Appendix, Findings at a Glance
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Hospital Margins Rebounded in 2023, But Rural Hospitals and Those With High Medicaid Shares Were Struggling More Than Others
Examines hospital margins for non-federal general short-term hospitals in the U.S. from 2018 through 2023, with a focus on operating margins. Analyzes RAND Hospital Data to explore the extent to which hospitals profited or lost money on patient care and other operating activities. Discusses differences in operating margins by hospital characteristics, including hospital ownership type, commercial share, size, rural or urban location, and Medicare rural payment designation.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Examines hospital margins for non-federal general short-term hospitals in the U.S. from 2018 through 2023, with a focus on operating margins. Analyzes RAND Hospital Data to explore the extent to which hospitals profited or lost money on patient care and other operating activities. Discusses differences in operating margins by hospital characteristics, including hospital ownership type, commercial share, size, rural or urban location, and Medicare rural payment designation.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Critical Access Hospital Financial Sustainability Guide
Provides guidance and assistance to state Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program personnel, leaders of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), and others helping CAHs manage long-term financial stability. Presents potential interventions CAHs may use to address ongoing and systemic financial challenges in rural healthcare.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organizations: EideBailly, National Rural Health Resource Center
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Provides guidance and assistance to state Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program personnel, leaders of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), and others helping CAHs manage long-term financial stability. Presents potential interventions CAHs may use to address ongoing and systemic financial challenges in rural healthcare.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organizations: EideBailly, National Rural Health Resource Center
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Effects of Rural Hospital Closures on Nurse Staffing Levels and Health Care Utilization at Nearby Hospitals
Analyzes healthcare utilization and nurse staffing levels when nearby rural hospitals close. Utilizes 2014-2019 American Hospital Association Survey data to examine vocational nurse/licensed practical nurse (LPN), registered nurse (RN), and advanced practice nurse (APN) staffing levels as well as inpatient and outpatient surgical operations and emergency department (ED) visits within 4 years of a hospital closure.
Author(s): Jing Dong, Siying Liu, Asefeh Faraz Covelli, Guido Cataife
Citation: Health Economics, 33(12), 2687-2707
Date: 12/2024
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Analyzes healthcare utilization and nurse staffing levels when nearby rural hospitals close. Utilizes 2014-2019 American Hospital Association Survey data to examine vocational nurse/licensed practical nurse (LPN), registered nurse (RN), and advanced practice nurse (APN) staffing levels as well as inpatient and outpatient surgical operations and emergency department (ED) visits within 4 years of a hospital closure.
Author(s): Jing Dong, Siying Liu, Asefeh Faraz Covelli, Guido Cataife
Citation: Health Economics, 33(12), 2687-2707
Date: 12/2024
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North Dakota Critical Access Hospital Conditions of Participation (CoP) Checklist
Provides a checklist for establishing a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) in North Dakota. Details the required documentation, policies, and information needed by the state survey team to meet the CAH certification standards.
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: University of North Dakota Center for Rural Health
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Provides a checklist for establishing a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) in North Dakota. Details the required documentation, policies, and information needed by the state survey team to meet the CAH certification standards.
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: University of North Dakota Center for Rural Health
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National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2022 Emergency Department Summary Tables
Provides data on ambulatory care emergency department (ED) hospital visits in 2022. Table 1 provides metropolitan/nonmetropolitan ED visit data based on hospital location.
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Provides data on ambulatory care emergency department (ED) hospital visits in 2022. Table 1 provides metropolitan/nonmetropolitan ED visit data based on hospital location.
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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The Potential for Hospital System Integration to Improve the Financial Outlook of Rural Hospitals in the United States
Provides an overview of the current financial status of rural hospitals and their risk of closure, as defined by days of cash on hand and total margins. Discusses the impact of rural hospital closures on local communities, including on health outcomes, demographics, and the economy. Explores the extent to which affiliating with, merging with, or being acquired by a larger hospital system can impact the financial position of rural hospitals.
Author(s): Al Dobson, Michael Beins, Patrick McMahon, et al.
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Coalition to Strengthen America's Healthcare, Dobson DaVanzo & Associates
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Provides an overview of the current financial status of rural hospitals and their risk of closure, as defined by days of cash on hand and total margins. Discusses the impact of rural hospital closures on local communities, including on health outcomes, demographics, and the economy. Explores the extent to which affiliating with, merging with, or being acquired by a larger hospital system can impact the financial position of rural hospitals.
Author(s): Al Dobson, Michael Beins, Patrick McMahon, et al.
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Coalition to Strengthen America's Healthcare, Dobson DaVanzo & Associates
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Meeker Memorial Hospital: Bringing Sustainable Coordination of Care to its Patients and Community
Provides a profile of Meeker Memorial Hospital (MMH), a healthcare facility located in Minnesota and part of the 2022-2023 Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP). Discusses MMH's process to improve finances and operations, implement electronic medical record (EMR) training, partner with pharmacy schools, and more.
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Provides a profile of Meeker Memorial Hospital (MMH), a healthcare facility located in Minnesota and part of the 2022-2023 Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP). Discusses MMH's process to improve finances and operations, implement electronic medical record (EMR) training, partner with pharmacy schools, and more.
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Fiscal Year 2024 Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Investments: Fact Sheet
Provides an overview of Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) grant programs in Fiscal Year 2024. Summarizes and briefly describes funding awarded to support rural hospitals, address rural behavioral health, expand the rural health workforce, increase access to care, advance maternal health, and support rural health research and policy analysis.
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
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Provides an overview of Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) grant programs in Fiscal Year 2024. Summarizes and briefly describes funding awarded to support rural hospitals, address rural behavioral health, expand the rural health workforce, increase access to care, advance maternal health, and support rural health research and policy analysis.
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
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