Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Long-term care
March 2021 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) March 2021 meeting. Features a discussion on rural Medicare beneficiaries' access to care. Also covers the skilled nursing facility value-based purchasing program and proposed replacement, streamlining CMS's portfolio of alternative payment models, balancing efficiency with equity in Medicare Advantage benchmark policy, and the relationship between clinician services and other Medicare services.
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) March 2021 meeting. Features a discussion on rural Medicare beneficiaries' access to care. Also covers the skilled nursing facility value-based purchasing program and proposed replacement, streamlining CMS's portfolio of alternative payment models, balancing efficiency with equity in Medicare Advantage benchmark policy, and the relationship between clinician services and other Medicare services.
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Challenges to Admitting Residents: Perspectives from Rural Nursing Home Administrators and Staff
Study of nursing home admissions in rural areas that examines challenges nursing home workers encounter when admitting individuals with mental and behavioral health conditions, obesity, dementia, and complex medical conditions. Discusses capacity challenges facing rural nursing homes related to population density, workforce recruitment and retention, financial issues, and space and equipment needs to meet specific health conditions. Data taken from surveys of 209 rural nursing home administrators.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Dori Cross, Adrita Rahman
Citation: Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 58, 1-8
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
view details
Study of nursing home admissions in rural areas that examines challenges nursing home workers encounter when admitting individuals with mental and behavioral health conditions, obesity, dementia, and complex medical conditions. Discusses capacity challenges facing rural nursing homes related to population density, workforce recruitment and retention, financial issues, and space and equipment needs to meet specific health conditions. Data taken from surveys of 209 rural nursing home administrators.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Dori Cross, Adrita Rahman
Citation: Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 58, 1-8
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
view details
Post-Acute Care Trajectories for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries: Planned versus Actual Hospital Discharges to Skilled Nursing Facilities and Home Health Agencies
Examines care transitions among rural fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries following discharge from an acute care hospital. Compares planned and actual discharges to home health agencies and skilled nursing facilities. Discusses implications of these findings on rural healthcare policy and practice.
Author(s): Tracy M. Mroz, Lisa A. Garberson, C. Holly A. Andrilla, et al.
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
Examines care transitions among rural fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries following discharge from an acute care hospital. Compares planned and actual discharges to home health agencies and skilled nursing facilities. Discusses implications of these findings on rural healthcare policy and practice.
Author(s): Tracy M. Mroz, Lisa A. Garberson, C. Holly A. Andrilla, et al.
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2021
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 healthcare facilities and services, improving Medicare payment for post-acute care, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, and the impact of healthcare provider consolidation. Contains information on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Medicare beneficiary healthcare access, mortality, and service use. Presents an option for Medicare's coverage of telehealth beyond the public health emergency.
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
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 healthcare facilities and services, improving Medicare payment for post-acute care, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, and the impact of healthcare provider consolidation. Contains information on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Medicare beneficiary healthcare access, mortality, and service use. Presents an option for Medicare's coverage of telehealth beyond the public health emergency.
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Trends in Nursing Home Closures in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Counties in the United States, 2008-2018
Policy brief documenting closures of facilities dually certified by Medicare and Medicaid or facilities certified by Medicaid only. Identifies areas lacking nursing homes and summarizes characteristics of open and closed nursing homes. Features statistics with breakdowns by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and county-level maps showing areas with one or more nursing home closures from 2008-2018 and counties considered nursing home deserts.
Author(s): Hari Sharma, Redwan Bin Abdul Baten, Fred Ullrich, A. Clinton MacKinney, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
view details
Policy brief documenting closures of facilities dually certified by Medicare and Medicaid or facilities certified by Medicaid only. Identifies areas lacking nursing homes and summarizes characteristics of open and closed nursing homes. Features statistics with breakdowns by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and county-level maps showing areas with one or more nursing home closures from 2008-2018 and counties considered nursing home deserts.
Author(s): Hari Sharma, Redwan Bin Abdul Baten, Fred Ullrich, A. Clinton MacKinney, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
view details
January 2021 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) January 2021 meeting. Features a discussion on the expansion of telehealth in Medicare. Also covers payment adequacy and updates for hospital inpatient and outpatient services and the mandated report expanding the post-acute care transfer policy to hospice, physician and other health professional services, ambulatory surgical center services, outpatient dialysis services, hospice services, skilled nursing facility services, home health agency services, inpatient rehabilitation facility services, long-term care hospital services, and CMMI's development and implementation of alternative payment models.
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) January 2021 meeting. Features a discussion on the expansion of telehealth in Medicare. Also covers payment adequacy and updates for hospital inpatient and outpatient services and the mandated report expanding the post-acute care transfer policy to hospice, physician and other health professional services, ambulatory surgical center services, outpatient dialysis services, hospice services, skilled nursing facility services, home health agency services, inpatient rehabilitation facility services, long-term care hospital services, and CMMI's development and implementation of alternative payment models.
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Care Transformation Toolkit
Provides an overview of common approaches and best practices Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) utilize to improve healthcare quality, lower healthcare costs, and enhance patient experiences. Describes ACO programs designed to use telehealth to expand access to care and improve efficiency, support high-risk beneficiaries through home visits, and provide timely access to skilled nursing care through Medicare waivers. Discusses lessons learned, options available to ACOs, and possible implementation challenges.
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mathematica
view details
Provides an overview of common approaches and best practices Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) utilize to improve healthcare quality, lower healthcare costs, and enhance patient experiences. Describes ACO programs designed to use telehealth to expand access to care and improve efficiency, support high-risk beneficiaries through home visits, and provide timely access to skilled nursing care through Medicare waivers. Discusses lessons learned, options available to ACOs, and possible implementation challenges.
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mathematica
view details
Medicare Severe Wound Care: Spending Declines May Reflect Site of Care Changes; Limited Information Is Available on Quality
Reports on an analysis of where Medicare beneficiaries received care for severe wounds in 2018 and Medicare payment for these services. Provides an overview of the implementation of a dual payment system for long-term care hospitals in 2016, and examines how the dual payment system affected the availability and quality of severe wound care for Medicare beneficiaries. Includes data on severe wound care by facility type in addition to Medicare spending by urban and rural location.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Reports on an analysis of where Medicare beneficiaries received care for severe wounds in 2018 and Medicare payment for these services. Provides an overview of the implementation of a dual payment system for long-term care hospitals in 2016, and examines how the dual payment system affected the availability and quality of severe wound care for Medicare beneficiaries. Includes data on severe wound care by facility type in addition to Medicare spending by urban and rural location.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
A Demonstration Project: Assessing the Significance and Impact of Utilizing a Novel Telemedicine Application in the Delivery of Community Based Palliative Care in a Rural Seriously Ill Population
Describes a project that evaluated the integration of virtual pharmacy into a palliative care telehealth model in rural western North Carolina. Addresses the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of using a virtual pharmacist, the common drug-drug interactions in that setting, recommendations from a virtual pharmacist related to medication management, and patient-reported outcomes.
Author(s): Janet H. Bull
Date: 2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
view details
Describes a project that evaluated the integration of virtual pharmacy into a palliative care telehealth model in rural western North Carolina. Addresses the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of using a virtual pharmacist, the common drug-drug interactions in that setting, recommendations from a virtual pharmacist related to medication management, and patient-reported outcomes.
Author(s): Janet H. Bull
Date: 2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
view details
2021 Long-Term Support Services Telehealth Results Summary
Presents findings of a review of telehealth needs and challenges among long-term services and supports (LTSS) staff in Hawaii based on telephone interviews. Offers policy recommendations to support LTSS providers and family caregivers and highlights provider experiences before and during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Discusses use of telehealth technology, barriers to using telehealth, and desired support among nursing homes, care homes, home health agents, hospice providers, family caregivers, and rehabilitation service providers.
Date: 2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Pacific Basin Telehealth Resource Center
view details
Presents findings of a review of telehealth needs and challenges among long-term services and supports (LTSS) staff in Hawaii based on telephone interviews. Offers policy recommendations to support LTSS providers and family caregivers and highlights provider experiences before and during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Discusses use of telehealth technology, barriers to using telehealth, and desired support among nursing homes, care homes, home health agents, hospice providers, family caregivers, and rehabilitation service providers.
Date: 2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Pacific Basin Telehealth Resource Center
view details