Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Post-acute care
FY 2026 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System (LTCH PPS) Final Rule — CMS-1833-F
Fact sheet providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) fiscal year 2026 hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) and long-term care hospital prospective payment system (LTCH PPS) final rule. Includes information about the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program and the discontinuation of the low-wage index hospital policy for FY 2026 and subsequent years.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Fact sheet providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) fiscal year 2026 hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) and long-term care hospital prospective payment system (LTCH PPS) final rule. Includes information about the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program and the discontinuation of the low-wage index hospital policy for FY 2026 and subsequent years.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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MedPAC Data Book: Health Care Spending and the Medicare Program, 2025
Provides an overview of Medicare spending and highlights data on Medicare beneficiary demographics, dual-eligible beneficiaries, quality of care provided through the Medicare program, and other payer liability. Examines settings of care, including rural-specific provider sites, as they relate to spending, access to care, and profit margins. Compares rural and urban beneficiaries and providers throughout. Chart 6-2 addresses rural hospital closures and Rural Emergency Hospital conversions.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Provides an overview of Medicare spending and highlights data on Medicare beneficiary demographics, dual-eligible beneficiaries, quality of care provided through the Medicare program, and other payer liability. Examines settings of care, including rural-specific provider sites, as they relate to spending, access to care, and profit margins. Compares rural and urban beneficiaries and providers throughout. Chart 6-2 addresses rural hospital closures and Rural Emergency Hospital conversions.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Guidance for the Expiration of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE)
Outlines the emergency waivers related to the minimum health and safety requirements for long-term care and acute continuing care providers that expired at the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). Describes the timelines for certain regulatory requirements issued during the PHE through interim final rules.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Outlines the emergency waivers related to the minimum health and safety requirements for long-term care and acute continuing care providers that expired at the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). Describes the timelines for certain regulatory requirements issued during the PHE through interim final rules.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System, June 2025
Evaluates Medicare payment issues and provides recommendations to the U.S. Congress. Covers proposed reforms to the physician fee schedule updates and the accuracy of relative payment rates; supplemental benefits in Medicare Advantage; home healthcare use among Medicare Advantage enrollees; Part D prescription drug plans for beneficiaries in fee-for-service Medicare and Medicare Advantage; Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes; the inclusion of rural providers in current Medicare fee-for-service quality reporting programs; and recommendations related to reducing beneficiary cost sharing for outpatient services at Critical Access Hospitals. Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Evaluates Medicare payment issues and provides recommendations to the U.S. Congress. Covers proposed reforms to the physician fee schedule updates and the accuracy of relative payment rates; supplemental benefits in Medicare Advantage; home healthcare use among Medicare Advantage enrollees; Part D prescription drug plans for beneficiaries in fee-for-service Medicare and Medicare Advantage; Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes; the inclusion of rural providers in current Medicare fee-for-service quality reporting programs; and recommendations related to reducing beneficiary cost sharing for outpatient services at Critical Access Hospitals. Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility PPS for FY 2026
Comments on an April 30, 2025, Federal Register proposed rule addressing updates to the prospective payment system for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for fiscal year 2026. Includes comments on the potential impact of replacing payment weights on small and rural IRFs.
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Comments on an April 30, 2025, Federal Register proposed rule addressing updates to the prospective payment system for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for fiscal year 2026. Includes comments on the potential impact of replacing payment weights on small and rural IRFs.
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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2024 National CAH Quality Inventory & Assessment National Report
Presents a high-level summary of key data points from the September-November 2024 National Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Quality Inventory and Assessment. Includes data on CAH system affiliation; median average daily census and emergency department volume; median swing bed admissions and swing bed length of stay; hospital inpatient, behavioral health and specialty care, and outpatient and other service lines; and CAH quality payment model participation.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Presents a high-level summary of key data points from the September-November 2024 National Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Quality Inventory and Assessment. Includes data on CAH system affiliation; median average daily census and emergency department volume; median swing bed admissions and swing bed length of stay; hospital inpatient, behavioral health and specialty care, and outpatient and other service lines; and CAH quality payment model participation.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Skilled Nursing Facility Services: Chapter 6
Discusses payment adequacy for skilled nursing facility (SNF) services. Features statistics on SNF care provided by rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) via swing beds and Medicare margins for urban, rural, and frontier freestanding SNFs in 2023.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Discusses payment adequacy for skilled nursing facility (SNF) services. Features statistics on SNF care provided by rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) via swing beds and Medicare margins for urban, rural, and frontier freestanding SNFs in 2023.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2025
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 Medicare fee-for-service payment systems, Medicare Advantage (MA), and Medicare Part D.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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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 Medicare fee-for-service payment systems, Medicare Advantage (MA), and Medicare Part D.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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The Association Between Neighborhood Social Vulnerability and Community-Based Rehabilitation after Stroke
Examines the relationship between the timely use of community-based rehabilitation after a stroke and the social determinants of health. Analyzes 6,843 adults enrolled in a post-acute stroke program in North Carolina, with breakdowns according to patient SVI and therapy visits within 90 days of stroke. Includes discussion of rurality as a factor related to access and timely use of care.
Author(s): Shuqi Zhang, Elizabeth R. Mormer, Anna M. Johnson, et al.
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 25, 55
Date: 01/2025
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Examines the relationship between the timely use of community-based rehabilitation after a stroke and the social determinants of health. Analyzes 6,843 adults enrolled in a post-acute stroke program in North Carolina, with breakdowns according to patient SVI and therapy visits within 90 days of stroke. Includes discussion of rurality as a factor related to access and timely use of care.
Author(s): Shuqi Zhang, Elizabeth R. Mormer, Anna M. Johnson, et al.
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 25, 55
Date: 01/2025
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Medicare Could save Billions with Comparable Access for Enrollees If Critical Access Hospital Payments for Swing-Bed Services Were Similar to Those of the Fee-for-Service Prospective Payment System
Describes the use of swing beds for skilled nursing services at Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and average daily Medicare reimbursement for these services from 2015 through 2020. Examines data from a sample of 100 CAHs to determine whether Medicare enrollees would have had access to the same skilled nursing services provided by CAHs at alternative facilities within a 35-mile driving distance. Compares the average daily reimbursement for skilled nursing services at CAHs and alternative facilities, as well as the potential savings to Medicare if CAHs were reimbursed for skilled nursing services under the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS).
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Describes the use of swing beds for skilled nursing services at Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and average daily Medicare reimbursement for these services from 2015 through 2020. Examines data from a sample of 100 CAHs to determine whether Medicare enrollees would have had access to the same skilled nursing services provided by CAHs at alternative facilities within a 35-mile driving distance. Compares the average daily reimbursement for skilled nursing services at CAHs and alternative facilities, as well as the potential savings to Medicare if CAHs were reimbursed for skilled nursing services under the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS).
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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