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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Medicare

Evaluation of Hospital-Setting HCIA Awards: Second Annual Report, Final
Second annual evaluations of 10 Health Care Innovation Awards Round One projects undertaken in a hospital inpatient or emergency department. Includes findings across all projects, as well as profiles of each project. Includes projects that involved Critical Access Hospitals and other rural hospitals. Includes projects focused on improved care for sepsis and projects using remote electronic intensive care unit (eICU) services.
Date: 03/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Abt Associates, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Second Annual Report: HCIA Disease-Specific Evaluation
Second annual evaluations of 18 Health Care Innovation Awards Round One projects targeting patient populations with specific diseases. Discusses experiences common across grantees and profiles each project. Includes projects that serve a variety of rural areas and address conditions such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and chronic pain. Approaches discussed include care coordination, education, and telehealth.
Date: 03/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Evaluation of the Health Care Innovation Awards: Community Resource Planning, Prevention, and Monitoring: Second Annual Report
Second annual evaluations of 24 Health Care Innovation Awards Round One projects focused on enhancing care coordination and healthcare access through the use of health information technology, care coordination/patient navigation, and health promotion and prevention services. Discusses project impacts and challenges common across grantees. Includes profiles of 5 rural-focused projects, as well as projects serving rural and urban areas.
Date: 03/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International
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HCIA Complex/High-Risk Patient Targeting: Second Annual Report
Second annual evaluations of 23 Health Care Innovation Awards Round One projects focused on patients with medically complex conditions at high risk for hospitalization, re-hospitalization, emergency department visits, or nursing home stays. Several projects serve rural areas, offering caregiver education and support, telehealth services, and various care coordination approaches. Discusses common experiences of grantees serving rural areas, as well as profiles of each project.
Date: 03/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Evaluating the HCIA - Behavioral Health/Substance Abuse Awards: Second Annual Report
Second annual evaluations of 10 Health Care Innovation Awards Round One projects focused on mental health and substance abuse services. Offers overviews of all projects, including HealthLinkNow, which uses telehealth to provide behavioral care services in rural areas, and the Prevention and Recovery in Early Psychosis Program, which was expanded to serve to rural counties in California.
Date: 03/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mathematica Policy Research
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Medicare Costs and Utilization Among Beneficiaries in Rural Areas
Reports on a study evaluating the association of Medicare beneficiary spending patterns with the differences in cost for services across rural hospital service areas (HSAs). Describes strategies and policies to address the geographic variability of higher costs of care in rural HSAs.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Doug Wholey, Michelle Casey, Ira Moscovice
Date: 03/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2016
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Discussions of rural aspects of Medicare payment policies are included throughout the report. Focuses on payment adequacy, Medicare Advantage, and Medicare Part D.
Date: 03/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Rural ACO Leaders Speak: What Have Been the Biggest Challenges and the Biggest Advantages to Creating Your ACO?
Five rural Accountable Care Organization (ACO) leaders discuss the biggest challenges and advantages they've experienced in building an ACO.
Author(s): Zachary Toliver
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 03/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Access to Rural Home Health Services: Views from the Field
Describes current issues affecting access to rural home health services, with an emphasis on Medicare-reimbursed programs. Based on published research, gray literature, and telephone interviews with 40 key informants from 19 states between May 2014 and March 2015. Discusses challenges and barriers to access as well as possible solutions.
Author(s): Susan M. Skillman, Davis G. Patterson, Cynthia Coulthard, Tracy M. Mroz
Date: 02/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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CMS Manual System: Revisions to Medicare State Operations Manual, Chapter 9 - Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Recertification Checklist: Rural and Distance or Necessary Provider Verification
Provides a list of the necessary components to be confirmed when Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) are surveyed for recertification to determine if they meet the rural location and distance or necessary provider requirements to maintain their CAH status. Identifies the procedures used by the CMS Regional Office and state survey agencies to determine if CAHs meet the necessary requirements.
Date: 02/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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