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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Accountable Care Organizations

April 2020 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) April 2020 meeting. Covers value-based payment in Medicare, challenges in maintaining and increasing savings from accountable care organizations, incentives in Medicare Part D, the Medicare Advantage quality bonus program, and Medicare's end-stage renal disease (ESRD) prospective payment system. Includes a discussion of ESRD payment adjustments for rural and low-volume providers.
Date: 04/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Rural Hospital Participation in Medicare Accountable Care Organizations
Report explores the rates of rural hospital participation in Medicare Shared Savings Program (SSP) Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). Details some of the factors that correspond to participation and compares rates by region and by rural status.
Date: 04/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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March 2020 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) March 2020 meeting. Covers Medicare Shared Savings Program vulnerabilities, the role of specialists in alternative payment models and accountable care organizations, incentives in Medicare Part D, the Medicare Advantage quality bonus program, and Medicare's end-stage renal disease (ESRD) prospective payment system. Includes a discussion of ESRD payment adjustments for rural and low-volume providers.
Date: 03/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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How to Better Support Small Physician-led Accountable Care Organizations: Recent Program Updates, Challenges, and Policy Implications
Describes the strategies of successful small physician-led Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). Discusses how policy changes contribute to the opportunities and challenges for these ACOs. Explores how "ACO Enablers" aid small ACOs in participating in risk-bearing models. Includes a brief discussion of how the ACO Investment Model program supported ACOs in rural and underserved areas with access to capital.
Author(s): Jonathan Gonzalez-Smith, Hannah Crook, Elizabeth Singletary, William Bleser, Robert Saunders
Date: 02/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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Second Evaluation Report: Next Generation Accountable Care Organization Model Evaluation
Reports on the impact of the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization model in 2016 and 2017, with information on the full sample of 46 participating NGACOs. Provides information on the models' impact on gross and net Medicare spending. The appendices include data on community characteristics, including rurality.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance, Technical Appendices
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NORC at the University of Chicago
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The Rural Health Care Coordination Network Partnership Program: South East Rural Physicians Alliance
Describes and examines the impact of a care coordination program developed by the South East Rural Physicians Alliance-Independent Physician Association located in Nebraska. Program focuses on clinic-based care coordination for high-risk patients with diagnosed diabetes or congestive heart failure. Funded under the Rural Health Care Coordination Network Partnership Grant Program from 2015-2018.
Date: 2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Financial Incentives to Improve Community Health
Slides presented at the 2019 National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) Annual Meeting discussing several federal initiatives as a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including the Medicare Shared Savings Program and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), resulting in controlled costs, improved quality of care, and offering financial incentives. Identifies how State Offices of Rural Health can support health organizations to participate successfully in these initiatives.
Author(s): Keith Mueller
Date: 10/2019
Type: Presentation Slides
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
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Evaluation of the Accountable Care Organization Investment Model: AIM Implementation and Impacts over Two Performance Years
Evaluation examining the first two years of the ACO Investment Model (AIM), which tests the use of prepaid shared savings to encourage new ACOs to form in rural and underserved areas (Test 1) and to encourage current Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs to transition to arrangements with greater financial risk (Test 2). Reports on AIM ACO composition, including rurality. Appendices include detailed information on each AIM ACO.
Additional links: Appendices, Findings at a Glance
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Abt Associates, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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RHC - Becoming a Primary Care Medical Home
Presentation slides from an August 2019 webinar discussing how a Rural Health Clinic (RHC) can become a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). Profiles one RHC in the Mississippi Delta that became both a PCMH and an Accountable Care Organization and details the challenges and benefits of the transition. Part of the Rural Health Clinic Technical Assistance Series.
Date: 08/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organizations: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, National Association of Rural Health Clinics
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Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) Project Guide: A Rural Hospital Guide to Improving Care Management: 2019 Update
A guide for rural hospital leadership that identifies best practices in care management. Addresses care management roles and staffing needs and covers utilization review and discharge planning. Helps identify opportunities for process improvement. Also discusses competencies needed to transition to a value-based reimbursement environment focused on population health.
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: National Rural Health Resource Center, Stroudwater Associates
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