Rural Health
News by Topic: Hospitals
Public Inspection: CMS: Medicare Program: Alternative Payment Model Updates and the Increasing Organ Transplant Access Model
Federal Register
May 9, 2024 - Pre-publication notice of proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) describing a new mandatory Medicare payment model, the Increasing Organ Transplant Access Model (IOTA Model). The IOTA Model would test whether performance-based incentive payments paid to or owed by participating kidney transplant hospitals increase access to kidney transplants for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) while preserving or enhancing the quality of care and reducing Medicare expenditures. This proposed rule also describes standard provisions for CMS Innovation Center (CMMI) models relating to beneficiary protections, cooperation in model evaluation and monitoring, audits and records retention, rights in data and intellectual property, monitoring and compliance, and more. These standard provisions would apply to any CMMI model whose first performance period begins on or after January 1, 2025, and in whole or in part to any CMMI model whose first performance period began before January 1, 2025. Comments are due within 60 days of the publication of this notice, which is scheduled for May 17, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
May 7, 2024 - Provides an overview of new legislation aimed at improving healthcare access, with a focus on rural and underserved areas. Details six bills addressing a range of issues including telehealth access, rural hospital stabilization, and healthcare workforce shortages.
Source: House Committee on Ways and Means
May 6, 2024 - Highlights a Native-managed healthcare system part of the Navajo Nation in Arizona, discussing their expanded facility and services coming later this year. Discusses the impact of healthcare on local infrastructure, recruiting healthcare workforce, and rural community resilience.
Source: Cronkite News
May 3, 2024 - Summarizes forthcoming research on disparities in access to hospital-based pediatric services among rural and urban children. Discusses the impact of rural hospital closures on children with chronic health conditions.
Source: Medical Xpress
May 2, 2024 - Notice of proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding changes to the hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) for operating and capital-related costs of acute care hospitals for fiscal year 2025. Contains details of proposed changes impacting Medicare graduate medical education (GME) for teaching hospitals and payment policies and the annual payment rates for the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for inpatient hospital services provided by long-term care hospitals, among other things. Comments are due by June 10, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Apr 20, 2024 - Discusses the impact of cyberattacks on hospital services. Notes the outsized impact an attack could have on rural hospitals.
Source: The Center Square
Apr 17, 2024 - Reports on a Minnesota hospital converting to a Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) in an effort to stabilize their budget. It would be the first in the state to convert to an REH.
Source: Star Tribune
Apr 12, 2024 - Highlights a 2022 U.S. Department of Agriculture Emergency Rural Health Care Grant recipient. Grant funds allowed for updating equipment and facilities for the rural Texas hospital.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Newsroom
Apr 10, 2024 - Announces proposed bipartisan legislation modifying regulations for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in mountainous areas. Legislation would allow ambulatory services with enhanced Medicare payments as well as protecting CAH designation when a new facility is constructed within 15 miles.
Source: Office of Senator Joe Manchin
Apr 9, 2024 - Highlights a mental telehealth service in Nebraska that increases access to care in rural areas. Patients are able to receive a behavioral health assessment in their local hospital, which can be quicker and more convenient when services are multiple hours away.
Source: KOLN