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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Reimbursement and payment models

Hospital Price Transparency: What Hospitals Need to Know – Part 2
Webinar recording presents part two of a discussion on CMS's hospital price transparency requirement that went into effect on January 1, 2024. Features a presentation from a representative from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Observed Factors Influencing REH Conversion Decisions: Insights from the Rural Emergency Hospital Technical Assistance Center's Financial Modeling Process
Summarizes key findings from the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) Technical Assistance Center's financial modeling activities for rural hospitals considering conversion. Discusses barriers identified by hospitals considering REH status and common themes for why hospitals chose not to pursue the REH designation.
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Redesign Center
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Separate Payment for Essential Medicines – New Biweekly Interim Payments for the Inpatient Prospective Payment System
Provides an overview of payment adjustments to small, independent hospitals for establishing and maintaining access to buffer stocks of essential medicines for cost report periods beginning on or after October 1, 2024.
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Dashboard: Arkansas Primary Care Physician Workforce
Dashboard providing data on primary care physicians (PCPs) in Arkansas, utilizing 2019-2021 Arkansas State Medical Board and Arkansas Healthcare Initiative All-Payer Claims Database (APCD) data. Provides county-by-county data on PCP distribution, demographics, and payer mix.
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: Arkansas Center for Health Improvement
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Dashboard: Acute Behavioral Health Events Along the Birthing Journey in Arkansas
Provides data on acute behavioral health events, including mental health and substance abuse diagnoses, among Arkansas mothers, utilizing 2019-2022 Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative (HTI) data. Features clinical, demographic, and payer data associated with patients and individual encounters, recurring encounters, and outpatient visits, and can be sorted by region and county.
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: Arkansas Center for Health Improvement
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As Pandemic-Era Policies End, Medicaid Programs Focus on Enrollee Access and Reducing Health Disparities Amid Future Uncertainties: Results from an Annual Medicaid Budget Survey for State Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025
Examines changes taking place in Medicaid programs in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Features sections on delivery systems, provider rates and taxes, benefits, and pharmacy and prescription drugs. Highlights challenges and priorities related to state workforce shortages, systems issues, emerging state budget pressures, and more.
Author(s): Elizabeth Hinton, Elizabeth Williams, Jada Raphael, et al.
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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The Rural Emergency Hospital Model: Year Two Progress Report
Provides an overview of the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) payment designation, including the growth in REHs through September 1, 2024, factors that contribute to a hospital seeking REH conversion, and the impacts of REH conversion. Outlines concerns identified by REH leaders, facilities considering converting to REH status, and other rural stakeholders related to the REH designation, as well as policy recommendations to address these concerns.
Author(s): Emma Sheffert, Julia Harris, Marilyn Werber Serafini
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center
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Northern Maine Medical Center: A Rural Hospital Gaining Momentum in its Work Toward Quality Improvement
Profiles a prospective payment hospital in northern Maine that engaged in the 2022-2023 Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP), focusing on financial sustainability, cost efficiency, and quality improvement. Highlights hospital accomplishments and improvements via participation of the project.
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Health Care Workforce: Key Issues, Challenges, and the Path Forward
Provides an overview of the supply and distribution of physicians, nurses, direct care workers, behavioral health workers, and oral healthcare providers. Describes persistent challenges related to the healthcare workforce, including supply and distribution of healthcare workers, especially in rural communities; racial and ethnic diversity; burnout; compensation; and administrative burden. Identifies opportunities to address these challenges and efforts supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to address these issues.
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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The Impacts of New York's Balance Billing Regulation on Ground Ambulance Pricing
Examines the impact of surprise out-of-network (OON) billing regulations on New York emergency ground ambulances. Analyzes 2012-2019 commercial claims data and discusses the impacts of billing regulations on costs of care, with considerations related to transports from rural, super-rural, and urban locations.
Author(s): Wendy Y. Xu, Christopher Garmon, Sheldon M. Retchin, Yiting Li
Citation: Health Services Research
Date: 10/2024
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