Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Medicare
Certain Medicare Beneficiaries, Such as Urban and Hispanic Beneficiaries, Were More Likely Than Others To Use Telehealth During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Data brief examining telehealth usage by Medicare beneficiaries during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting rural and urban differences, state-level trends, and usage by race/ethnicity and age according to Medicare Advantage and fee-for-service claims data. Offers policy recommendations and agency responses.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Data brief examining telehealth usage by Medicare beneficiaries during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting rural and urban differences, state-level trends, and usage by race/ethnicity and age according to Medicare Advantage and fee-for-service claims data. Offers policy recommendations and agency responses.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Revisions to Part B for CY 2023
Comment on a July 29, 2022, Federal Register proposed rule revising the physician fee schedule to improve payment systems for physicians and other Medicare Part B revisions. Includes a discussion of the coverage of certain telehealth services after the COVID-19 public health emergency, as well as rebasing and revising the Medicare Economic Index (MEI).
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Comment on a July 29, 2022, Federal Register proposed rule revising the physician fee schedule to improve payment systems for physicians and other Medicare Part B revisions. Includes a discussion of the coverage of certain telehealth services after the COVID-19 public health emergency, as well as rebasing and revising the Medicare Economic Index (MEI).
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Health Panel Comment Letter – Medicare Advantage Program
Offers comments in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Request for Information on various aspects of the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. Presents a rural perspective on the MA program and discusses health equity in the MA program, expanding access to care, and value-based contracting. Includes data on the proportion of MA plans offering supplemental benefits in noncore, micropolitan, and metropolitan counties in 2020.
Date: 08/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Offers comments in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Request for Information on various aspects of the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. Presents a rural perspective on the MA program and discusses health equity in the MA program, expanding access to care, and value-based contracting. Includes data on the proportion of MA plans offering supplemental benefits in noncore, micropolitan, and metropolitan counties in 2020.
Date: 08/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Medicare Beneficiary Access to Prescription Drugs in Rural Areas
Policy brief identifying the types of pharmacies used by Medicare beneficiaries in rural areas with limited or no access to pharmacies, using data from July 2016 to December 2017. Features statistics on county and beneficiary characteristics and claim event counts, with breakdowns by county pharmacy cohort.
Author(s): Onyinye Oyeka, Fred Ullrich, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 08/2022
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Policy brief identifying the types of pharmacies used by Medicare beneficiaries in rural areas with limited or no access to pharmacies, using data from July 2016 to December 2017. Features statistics on county and beneficiary characteristics and claim event counts, with breakdowns by county pharmacy cohort.
Author(s): Onyinye Oyeka, Fred Ullrich, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 08/2022
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the ESRD PPS Update for CY 2023
Comments on a June 28, 2022, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Includes comments addressing the low-volume payment adjustment (LVPA) and the rural adjustment.
Date: 08/2022
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Comments on a June 28, 2022, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Includes comments addressing the low-volume payment adjustment (LVPA) and the rural adjustment.
Date: 08/2022
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Home Health Prospective Payment System for CY 2023
Comments on a June 23, 2022, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for home health agencies. Includes comments regarding the collection of data on the use of telecommunications technology under the Medicare home health benefit and quality measure stratification as a tool to address healthcare disparities and advance health equity.
Date: 08/2022
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Comments on a June 23, 2022, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for home health agencies. Includes comments regarding the collection of data on the use of telecommunications technology under the Medicare home health benefit and quality measure stratification as a tool to address healthcare disparities and advance health equity.
Date: 08/2022
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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2020 Quality Payment Program Experience Report
Reports on the clinician experience for those participating in the Quality Payment Program in 2020. Presents data on Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) eligibility and participation rates for clinicians in small practices and rural areas, as well as their mean payment adjustment scores.
Date: 08/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Reports on the clinician experience for those participating in the Quality Payment Program in 2020. Presents data on Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) eligibility and participation rates for clinicians in small practices and rural areas, as well as their mean payment adjustment scores.
Date: 08/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Hospice Care Index Technical Report
Provides an overview of the Hospice Care Index (HCI), a new Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) quality measure. Presents data and descriptive trends for the overall index score and each of the ten claims-based indicators that make up the HCI using Medicare claims data from fiscal years 2019-2021. Includes comparisons of hospices by the number of claims, decade of certification, ownership, facility type, region, and urban/rural location.
Date: 07/2022
Sponsoring organizations: Abt Associates, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Provides an overview of the Hospice Care Index (HCI), a new Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) quality measure. Presents data and descriptive trends for the overall index score and each of the ten claims-based indicators that make up the HCI using Medicare claims data from fiscal years 2019-2021. Includes comparisons of hospices by the number of claims, decade of certification, ownership, facility type, region, and urban/rural location.
Date: 07/2022
Sponsoring organizations: Abt Associates, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on Conditions of Participation (CoPs) for Rural Emergency Hospitals and Critical Access Hospital CoP Updates
Comments on July 2022 Federal Register proposed rule regarding staffing requirements for rural emergency hospitals (REHs). Discusses whether proposed staffing requirements are sufficient to ensure access to emergency care.
Date: 07/2022
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Comments on July 2022 Federal Register proposed rule regarding staffing requirements for rural emergency hospitals (REHs). Discusses whether proposed staffing requirements are sufficient to ensure access to emergency care.
Date: 07/2022
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Types of Rural and Urban Hospitals and Counties Where They Are Located
Offers a snapshot of the types of rural and urban hospitals and the counties where they are located. Presents data on the number and percent of acute care hospitals and average daily census by hospital type, special payment designation, and county size. Includes descriptions of Medicare special payment designations for hospitals.
Date: 07/2022
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Offers a snapshot of the types of rural and urban hospitals and the counties where they are located. Presents data on the number and percent of acute care hospitals and average daily census by hospital type, special payment designation, and county size. Includes descriptions of Medicare special payment designations for hospitals.
Date: 07/2022
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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