Rural Hospice and Palliative Care – Resources
Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Hospice and Palliative Care.
Healthcare Use and Out-of-Pocket Costs for Rural Family Caregivers and Care Recipients in a Randomized Controlled Trial
Evaluates the effect of a transitional palliative care intervention on healthcare utilization and out-of-pocket spending for 282 groups of rural family caregivers and their care recipients in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
Author(s): Brystana G. Kaufman, Ro W. Huang, Diane E. Holland, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 72(8), 2523-2531
Date: 05/2024
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Evaluates the effect of a transitional palliative care intervention on healthcare utilization and out-of-pocket spending for 282 groups of rural family caregivers and their care recipients in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
Author(s): Brystana G. Kaufman, Ro W. Huang, Diane E. Holland, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 72(8), 2523-2531
Date: 05/2024
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Hospice Care Chartbook 2024
Provides an overview of hospice care, including patient demographics, characteristics of live discharges, organizational trends, and Medicare spending for hospice services. Includes charts and graphs throughout, as well as state-by-state data. Slides 13 and 18 highlight the rural-urban distribution of hospice patients and live discharges, respectively.
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organizations: KNG Health Consulting, National Alliance for Care at Home, Research Institute for Home Care
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Provides an overview of hospice care, including patient demographics, characteristics of live discharges, organizational trends, and Medicare spending for hospice services. Includes charts and graphs throughout, as well as state-by-state data. Slides 13 and 18 highlight the rural-urban distribution of hospice patients and live discharges, respectively.
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organizations: KNG Health Consulting, National Alliance for Care at Home, Research Institute for Home Care
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Evaluation of the Medicare Care Choices Model: Fifth and Final Annual Evaluation Report
Evaluates the Medicare Care Choice Model (MCCM), which tests whether offering eligible Medicare beneficiaries the option to receive supportive services without forgoing payment for treatment of their terminal conditions improved their quality of life and care, increased patient and family satisfaction, and reduced Medicare expenditures. Describes the characteristics of participating hospices and withdrawal of providers over time; beneficiaries who were referred to, eligible for, and enrolled in MCCM; services provided and the quality of service delivery; transitions from MCCM to the Medicare hospice benefit; beneficiary outcomes and effects across subgroups; and key findings. Includes information on rural provider and beneficiary participation in the model and compares rural and urban beneficiary outcomes.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance, Participant Experience & Evaluation Results Video
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mathematica
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Evaluates the Medicare Care Choice Model (MCCM), which tests whether offering eligible Medicare beneficiaries the option to receive supportive services without forgoing payment for treatment of their terminal conditions improved their quality of life and care, increased patient and family satisfaction, and reduced Medicare expenditures. Describes the characteristics of participating hospices and withdrawal of providers over time; beneficiaries who were referred to, eligible for, and enrolled in MCCM; services provided and the quality of service delivery; transitions from MCCM to the Medicare hospice benefit; beneficiary outcomes and effects across subgroups; and key findings. Includes information on rural provider and beneficiary participation in the model and compares rural and urban beneficiary outcomes.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance, Participant Experience & Evaluation Results Video
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mathematica
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Provision of Hospice Services by Critical Access Hospitals: Strengths and Challenges
Describes the characteristics of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) that report providing hospice services by analyzing data from the 2021 American Hospital Association (AHA) annual survey. Presents findings from qualitative interviews with seven CAHs who report providing hospice care, including how CAHs provide hospice services, the advantages CAHs may have when providing end-of-life care, and what CAH-specific barriers exist in providing such care.
Author(s): Robert Barclay, Megan Lahr, Hannah MacDougall, Abigail Wenninger
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Describes the characteristics of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) that report providing hospice services by analyzing data from the 2021 American Hospital Association (AHA) annual survey. Presents findings from qualitative interviews with seven CAHs who report providing hospice care, including how CAHs provide hospice services, the advantages CAHs may have when providing end-of-life care, and what CAH-specific barriers exist in providing such care.
Author(s): Robert Barclay, Megan Lahr, Hannah MacDougall, Abigail Wenninger
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design Model Phase II: Second Annual Evaluation Report
Presents findings from an evaluation of Phase II of the Medicare Advantage (MA) Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Model, which allows participating MA parent organizations to offer supplemental benefits and incentives to beneficiaries, hospice benefits, and wellness and healthcare planning through their MA plans. Summarizes findings from interviews with representatives of participating MA organizations, in-network and out-of-network hospices, and beneficiaries. Covers MA organization and beneficiary implementation experiences, plan enrollment, quality of care, health outcomes, and more, for the VBID Model generally and for the VBID Hospice Benefit Component.
Additional links: Appendices, Findings at a Glance, Hospice Benefit Component Findings at a Glance
Date: 09/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RAND Corporation
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Presents findings from an evaluation of Phase II of the Medicare Advantage (MA) Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Model, which allows participating MA parent organizations to offer supplemental benefits and incentives to beneficiaries, hospice benefits, and wellness and healthcare planning through their MA plans. Summarizes findings from interviews with representatives of participating MA organizations, in-network and out-of-network hospices, and beneficiaries. Covers MA organization and beneficiary implementation experiences, plan enrollment, quality of care, health outcomes, and more, for the VBID Model generally and for the VBID Hospice Benefit Component.
Additional links: Appendices, Findings at a Glance, Hospice Benefit Component Findings at a Glance
Date: 09/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RAND Corporation
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NHPCO Pediatric Facts and Figure, 2023 Edition
Provides an overview of pediatric hospice and palliative care in the United States. Includes information and data on patient characteristics, access to care, reimbursement, barriers and facilitators to care, and more. Section 3 compares the number and percentage of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties with access to pediatric hospice and palliative care.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organizations: National Alliance for Care at Home, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
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Provides an overview of pediatric hospice and palliative care in the United States. Includes information and data on patient characteristics, access to care, reimbursement, barriers and facilitators to care, and more. Section 3 compares the number and percentage of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties with access to pediatric hospice and palliative care.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organizations: National Alliance for Care at Home, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
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Hospice: CMS Flexibilities to Fight COVID-19
Outlines specific regulatory waivers and Medicare flexibilities for hospice providers issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Includes information on payments for COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. Identifies whether each waiver or flexibility has been terminated, will end at the conclusion of the public health emergency, or has become permanent.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Outlines specific regulatory waivers and Medicare flexibilities for hospice providers issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Includes information on payments for COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. Identifies whether each waiver or flexibility has been terminated, will end at the conclusion of the public health emergency, or has become permanent.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Palliative Care and Healthcare Utilization among Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients in U.S. Hospitals
Examines in-patient palliative care use by hospitalized metastatic breast cancer patients. Analyzes 26,961 female patients from 2010 to 2014 for palliative care use, with patient information further broken down by age, race, income, insurance type, and status of hospital utilized, such as urban teaching, urban nonteaching, or rural.
Author(s): Sun Jung Kim, Isha Patel, Chanhyun Park, Dong Yeong Shin, Jongwha Chang
Citation: Scientific Reports,13, 4358
Date: 03/2023
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Examines in-patient palliative care use by hospitalized metastatic breast cancer patients. Analyzes 26,961 female patients from 2010 to 2014 for palliative care use, with patient information further broken down by age, race, income, insurance type, and status of hospital utilized, such as urban teaching, urban nonteaching, or rural.
Author(s): Sun Jung Kim, Isha Patel, Chanhyun Park, Dong Yeong Shin, Jongwha Chang
Citation: Scientific Reports,13, 4358
Date: 03/2023
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Association of Rurality with Utilization of Palliative Care and Hospice among Medicare Beneficiaries Who Died from Pancreatic Cancer: A Cohort Study
Explores the association between the rurality of patient residence and the use of palliative care and hospice among Medicare decedents with pancreatic cancer between 2016 and 2018. Also examines the use of palliative care at least 90 days after diagnosis and before death and hospice care at least three days before death. Presents data by metropolitan, micropolitan, small town, and rural classifications.
Author(s): Niveditta Ramkumar, Qianfei Wang, Gabriel A. Brooks, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(3), 557-564
Date: 01/2023
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Explores the association between the rurality of patient residence and the use of palliative care and hospice among Medicare decedents with pancreatic cancer between 2016 and 2018. Also examines the use of palliative care at least 90 days after diagnosis and before death and hospice care at least three days before death. Presents data by metropolitan, micropolitan, small town, and rural classifications.
Author(s): Niveditta Ramkumar, Qianfei Wang, Gabriel A. Brooks, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(3), 557-564
Date: 01/2023
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Increasing Knowledge of Palliative Care in South Dakota
Describes the creation of the South Dakota Palliative Care Network and discusses its work to increase knowledge of palliative care among rural healthcare professionals, nursing students, and community members in the state.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Describes the creation of the South Dakota Palliative Care Network and discusses its work to increase knowledge of palliative care among rural healthcare professionals, nursing students, and community members in the state.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Last Updated: 10/2/2025