Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Reimbursement and payment models
MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Skilled Nursing Facility Services: Chapter 7
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 2024.
Date: 03/2026
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 2024.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Home Health Care Services: Chapter 8
Discusses payment adequacy for home health care services. Features statistics on Medicare margins for home health agencies between 2019-2024 with breakdowns by urban and rural areas, rates of successful discharge and potentially preventable readmissions in urban and rural areas, and the number of home health periods provided to rural beneficiaries.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Discusses payment adequacy for home health care services. Features statistics on Medicare margins for home health agencies between 2019-2024 with breakdowns by urban and rural areas, rates of successful discharge and potentially preventable readmissions in urban and rural areas, and the number of home health periods provided to rural beneficiaries.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Hospice Services: Chapter 10
Discusses payment adequacy for hospice and palliative support services. Includes data on average costs by day and aggregate margins by urban and rural status, as well as demographics on Medicare decedents who used hospice during 2010 and between 2019-2024. Compares the actual hospice utilization rates in micropolitan, rural adjacent, rural nonadjacent, and frontier areas to urban hospice utilization rates.
Date: 03/2026
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Discusses payment adequacy for hospice and palliative support services. Includes data on average costs by day and aggregate margins by urban and rural status, as well as demographics on Medicare decedents who used hospice during 2010 and between 2019-2024. Compares the actual hospice utilization rates in micropolitan, rural adjacent, rural nonadjacent, and frontier areas to urban hospice utilization rates.
Date: 03/2026
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2026
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. Includes mandated reports on the impact of regulatory changes to the home health prospective payment system and dual-eligible special needs plans.
Date: 03/2026
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. Includes mandated reports on the impact of regulatory changes to the home health prospective payment system and dual-eligible special needs plans.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, March 2026
Reports on four aspects of Medicaid of interest to Congress: 1) the home- and community-based services (HCBS) workforce, 2) behavioral health in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), 3) Medicaid for justice-involved youth, and 4) Medicaid for children in foster care.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Reports on four aspects of Medicaid of interest to Congress: 1) the home- and community-based services (HCBS) workforce, 2) behavioral health in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), 3) Medicaid for justice-involved youth, and 4) Medicaid for children in foster care.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Rural Health Transformation Program: State Focus on Behavioral Health
Describes behavioral healthcare initiatives addressed in state Rural Health Transformation Program applications. Covers behavioral health integration in primary care, the behavioral health crisis continuum, the behavioral health workforce, payment approaches, and technology investments.
Author(s): Laura Galbreath
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
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Describes behavioral healthcare initiatives addressed in state Rural Health Transformation Program applications. Covers behavioral health integration in primary care, the behavioral health crisis continuum, the behavioral health workforce, payment approaches, and technology investments.
Author(s): Laura Galbreath
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
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RHC Cost Reporting 101
Recording of a March 3, 2026, webinar providing an overview of Rural Health Clinic (RHC) cost reporting. Covers key cost report concepts, the cost report approval process, billable visits, allowable and non-allowable costs, best practices, and more. Part of the Rural Health Clinic Technical Assistance Series.
Additional links: Presentation Slides
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Rural Health Clinics
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Recording of a March 3, 2026, webinar providing an overview of Rural Health Clinic (RHC) cost reporting. Covers key cost report concepts, the cost report approval process, billable visits, allowable and non-allowable costs, best practices, and more. Part of the Rural Health Clinic Technical Assistance Series.
Additional links: Presentation Slides
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Rural Health Clinics
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March 2026 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) March 2026 meeting. Covers research and proposals related to the Medicare ground ambulance data collection system, access to hospice and certain complex palliative services for beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease and beneficiaries with cancer, provider participation in Medicare Advantage (MA) networks, MA encounter data in risk adjustment, the complexity of Medicare enrollment decisions for beneficiaries, and Medicare Part B premium payment basics. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Additional links: Mandated Report: Assessment of the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) March 2026 meeting. Covers research and proposals related to the Medicare ground ambulance data collection system, access to hospice and certain complex palliative services for beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease and beneficiaries with cancer, provider participation in Medicare Advantage (MA) networks, MA encounter data in risk adjustment, the complexity of Medicare enrollment decisions for beneficiaries, and Medicare Part B premium payment basics. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Additional links: Mandated Report: Assessment of the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Value-Based Payments Are Catching On, but Rural and Small Practices Lag
Describes the current rates of primary care physician (PCP) participation in value-based payment. Includes data on the percent of primary care physicians in rural and small practices that reported receiving revenue from value-based payment in 2025. Discusses barriers and potential solutions to increasing PCP participation in value-based payment.
Author(s): Celli Horstman, Corrine Lewis
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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Describes the current rates of primary care physician (PCP) participation in value-based payment. Includes data on the percent of primary care physicians in rural and small practices that reported receiving revenue from value-based payment in 2025. Discusses barriers and potential solutions to increasing PCP participation in value-based payment.
Author(s): Celli Horstman, Corrine Lewis
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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Progress Towards Vitality: A Review of Maternal Health Financing Mechanisms in Georgia
Reports on maternal health financing in Georgia and outlines a variety of federal, state, local, and private sources of funding. Examines how funding and reimbursement influences maternal healthcare delivery, details program models, and presents recommendations for policymakers, funders, and providers. Discusses rural areas throughout.
Author(s): Elizabeth Murphy, Shalanda Henderson, Shannon Raines, Nannette Beckley, Meaghan Hunt
Date: 02/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Georgia Health Initiative, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Reports on maternal health financing in Georgia and outlines a variety of federal, state, local, and private sources of funding. Examines how funding and reimbursement influences maternal healthcare delivery, details program models, and presents recommendations for policymakers, funders, and providers. Discusses rural areas throughout.
Author(s): Elizabeth Murphy, Shalanda Henderson, Shannon Raines, Nannette Beckley, Meaghan Hunt
Date: 02/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Georgia Health Initiative, NORC at the University of Chicago
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