Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy
Medicare Payment Basics: Hospital Acute Inpatient Services Payment System
Overview of Medicare payments to hospitals for acute inpatient care. Includes information on rate setting, Medicare payments for medical education, payments to Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH), new technology payments special payments for rural hospitals, quality incentive payments and penalties, and payment rate updates.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Overview of Medicare payments to hospitals for acute inpatient care. Includes information on rate setting, Medicare payments for medical education, payments to Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH), new technology payments special payments for rural hospitals, quality incentive payments and penalties, and payment rate updates.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Hospice Services Payment System
Overview of the Medicare hospice benefit and Medicare payments to hospice providers. Describes the four levels of care of the hospice prospective payment system and payment rates.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Overview of the Medicare hospice benefit and Medicare payments to hospice providers. Describes the four levels of care of the hospice prospective payment system and payment rates.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Home Health Care Services Payment System
Overview of Medicare payments for home health care services. Includes information on rate-setting and payments for quality reporting and performance. Describes the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) and the home health resource groups (HHRGs) based on clinical and functional status.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Overview of Medicare payments for home health care services. Includes information on rate-setting and payments for quality reporting and performance. Describes the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) and the home health resource groups (HHRGs) based on clinical and functional status.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Durable Medical Equipment Payment System
Overview of Medicare payments for medical equipment used to treat beneficiaries at home. Defines durable medical equipment (DME), details the DME fee schedule, and discusses the competitive bidding program (CBP) for DME. Includes information on adjustments to fee schedule payment rates outside of competitive bidding areas (CBAs).
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Overview of Medicare payments for medical equipment used to treat beneficiaries at home. Defines durable medical equipment (DME), details the DME fee schedule, and discusses the competitive bidding program (CBP) for DME. Includes information on adjustments to fee schedule payment rates outside of competitive bidding areas (CBAs).
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Ambulance Services Payment System
Provides an overview of Medicare payments for ambulance services. Discusses rural add-on payment policies, geographic categories determining payment rates, super-rural ZIP codes, and ambulance fee schedules.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Provides an overview of Medicare payments for ambulance services. Discusses rural add-on payment policies, geographic categories determining payment rates, super-rural ZIP codes, and ambulance fee schedules.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Accountable Care Organizations Payment Systems
Provides an overview of Medicare's Accountable Care Organization (ACO) programs. Discusses the payment mechanics of ACOs, including the maximum shared savings and losses of Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs by track and level.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Provides an overview of Medicare's Accountable Care Organization (ACO) programs. Discusses the payment mechanics of ACOs, including the maximum shared savings and losses of Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs by track and level.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Critical Access Hospitals Payment System
Presents an overview of Medicare payments for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Compares differences in Medicare payments for CAHs, Sole Community Hospitals, and Medicare-Dependent Hospitals.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Presents an overview of Medicare payments for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Compares differences in Medicare payments for CAHs, Sole Community Hospitals, and Medicare-Dependent Hospitals.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Maternity Deserts: The Equality State's Growing Crisis
Highlights maternity healthcare deserts in Wyoming and nationally. Discusses the impact of labor and delivery department closures, maternal mortality and morbidity, and more on access to care. Notes opportunities to improve outcomes including increasing access to care, additional workforce training and facility protocols to improve healthcare quality, and promote networking opportunities to share knowledge. Offers policy recommendations based on report findings. Discusses rural throughout.
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organization: Wyoming Women's Action Network
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Highlights maternity healthcare deserts in Wyoming and nationally. Discusses the impact of labor and delivery department closures, maternal mortality and morbidity, and more on access to care. Notes opportunities to improve outcomes including increasing access to care, additional workforce training and facility protocols to improve healthcare quality, and promote networking opportunities to share knowledge. Offers policy recommendations based on report findings. Discusses rural throughout.
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organization: Wyoming Women's Action Network
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Time to Build: How Do We Develop More (Affordable) Housing in Rural America?
Provides discussion on housing policy, statistics on rural housing supply, and potential solutions to provide more rural housing options, such as utilizing public lands, manufactured homes, and more. Includes county-level data on housing unit changes and metro versus nonmetro trends in new single family homes.
Additional links: Housing Unit Change, 2013-2023 Infographic
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organization: Housing Assistance Council
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Provides discussion on housing policy, statistics on rural housing supply, and potential solutions to provide more rural housing options, such as utilizing public lands, manufactured homes, and more. Includes county-level data on housing unit changes and metro versus nonmetro trends in new single family homes.
Additional links: Housing Unit Change, 2013-2023 Infographic
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organization: Housing Assistance Council
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On Demand: Mark Holmes on Public Policy, Health Care Financing and Rural Places
A recorded webinar featuring Mark Holmes, Director of the University of North Carolina (UNC) Sheps Center for Health Services Research. Focuses on public policy, research and data, and rural healthcare financing.
Author(s): Mark Holmes, Wyatt Beckman
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
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A recorded webinar featuring Mark Holmes, Director of the University of North Carolina (UNC) Sheps Center for Health Services Research. Focuses on public policy, research and data, and rural healthcare financing.
Author(s): Mark Holmes, Wyatt Beckman
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
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