Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Critical Access Hospitals
Trust in Translation: Rural Providers Cross Language Barriers with Training, Outreach
Features rural health systems working to understand the needs of patients with limited English proficiency and using staffing and technology to meet those needs. Also highlights health professions training programs that are preparing future rural providers through language instruction and immersive language experiences, as well as opportunities to work with virtual and in-person interpreters.
Author(s): Gretel Kauffman
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 01/2025
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Features rural health systems working to understand the needs of patients with limited English proficiency and using staffing and technology to meet those needs. Also highlights health professions training programs that are preparing future rural providers through language instruction and immersive language experiences, as well as opportunities to work with virtual and in-person interpreters.
Author(s): Gretel Kauffman
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 01/2025
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS): 2025 Reporting MIPS Quality Measures through Medicare Part B Claims Quick Start Guide for Small Practices
Provides details on how small practices can report quality measures through Medicare Part B claims measures. Highlights changes to these measures in 2025, score redistribution policies for small practices, and information for clinicians at Critical Access Hospitals.
Date: 01/2025
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Provides details on how small practices can report quality measures through Medicare Part B claims measures. Highlights changes to these measures in 2025, score redistribution policies for small practices, and information for clinicians at Critical Access Hospitals.
Date: 01/2025
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Location of Critical Access Hospitals
U.S. map showing Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Updated quarterly.
Date: 01/2025
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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U.S. map showing Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Updated quarterly.
Date: 01/2025
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Financial Performance Gaps Between Critical Access Hospitals and Other Acute Care Hospitals
Research letter examining how system affiliation impacted hospital financial measures for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and non-CAHs between 2020 and 2022.
Author(s): Christopher Whaley, Marilyn Bartlett, Ge Bai
Citation: JAMA Health Forum, 5(12)
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
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Research letter examining how system affiliation impacted hospital financial measures for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and non-CAHs between 2020 and 2022.
Author(s): Christopher Whaley, Marilyn Bartlett, Ge Bai
Citation: JAMA Health Forum, 5(12)
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
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Medicare Could save Billions with Comparable Access for Enrollees If Critical Access Hospital Payments for Swing-Bed Services Were Similar to Those of the Fee-for-Service Prospective Payment System
Describes the use of swing beds for skilled nursing services at Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and average daily Medicare reimbursement for these services from 2015 through 2020. Examines data from a sample of 100 CAHs to determine whether Medicare enrollees would have had access to the same skilled nursing services provided by CAHs at alternative facilities within a 35-mile driving distance. Compares the average daily reimbursement for skilled nursing services at CAHs and alternative facilities, as well as the potential savings to Medicare if CAHs were reimbursed for skilled nursing services under the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS).
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Describes the use of swing beds for skilled nursing services at Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and average daily Medicare reimbursement for these services from 2015 through 2020. Examines data from a sample of 100 CAHs to determine whether Medicare enrollees would have had access to the same skilled nursing services provided by CAHs at alternative facilities within a 35-mile driving distance. Compares the average daily reimbursement for skilled nursing services at CAHs and alternative facilities, as well as the potential savings to Medicare if CAHs were reimbursed for skilled nursing services under the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS).
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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The Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (PARHM): Fourth Annual Evaluation Report
Evaluates the fourth performance year of the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (PARHM), an initiative designed to test if global budgets can help rural hospitals improve their financial viability, provide flexibility to meet locally defined community health needs, and reduce overall healthcare spending. Provides an overview of the model and describes the implementation experience of participating hospitals and payers. Presents a descriptive quantitative assessment of financial performance, spending and utilization, access to care, and quality of care outcomes from 2016, the model's baseline, through 2022. Includes three case studies discussing three themes: experiences with global budget reconciliation, behavioral health transformation, and interactions and alignment between PARHM and other value-based care programs.
Additional links: Appendix, Findings at a Glance
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Evaluates the fourth performance year of the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (PARHM), an initiative designed to test if global budgets can help rural hospitals improve their financial viability, provide flexibility to meet locally defined community health needs, and reduce overall healthcare spending. Provides an overview of the model and describes the implementation experience of participating hospitals and payers. Presents a descriptive quantitative assessment of financial performance, spending and utilization, access to care, and quality of care outcomes from 2016, the model's baseline, through 2022. Includes three case studies discussing three themes: experiences with global budget reconciliation, behavioral health transformation, and interactions and alignment between PARHM and other value-based care programs.
Additional links: Appendix, Findings at a Glance
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Hospital Margins Rebounded in 2023, But Rural Hospitals and Those With High Medicaid Shares Were Struggling More Than Others
Examines hospital margins for non-federal general short-term hospitals in the U.S. from 2018 through 2023, with a focus on operating margins. Analyzes RAND Hospital Data to explore the extent to which hospitals profited or lost money on patient care and other operating activities. Discusses differences in operating margins by hospital characteristics, including hospital ownership type, commercial share, size, rural or urban location, and Medicare rural payment designation.
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Examines hospital margins for non-federal general short-term hospitals in the U.S. from 2018 through 2023, with a focus on operating margins. Analyzes RAND Hospital Data to explore the extent to which hospitals profited or lost money on patient care and other operating activities. Discusses differences in operating margins by hospital characteristics, including hospital ownership type, commercial share, size, rural or urban location, and Medicare rural payment designation.
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Critical Access Hospital Financial Sustainability Guide
Provides guidance and assistance to state Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program personnel, leaders of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), and others helping CAHs manage long-term financial stability. Presents potential interventions CAHs may use to address ongoing and systemic financial challenges in rural healthcare.
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: EideBailly, National Rural Health Resource Center
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Provides guidance and assistance to state Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program personnel, leaders of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), and others helping CAHs manage long-term financial stability. Presents potential interventions CAHs may use to address ongoing and systemic financial challenges in rural healthcare.
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: EideBailly, National Rural Health Resource Center
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Strategies for Critical Access Hospitals to Address Outmigration
Provides an overview of factors that may contribute to a rural healthcare facility experiencing bypass or market share loss. Offers strategies to help rural hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) increase Primary Service Area (PSA) market share and address outmigration.
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Impact! Communications, Inc., National Rural Health Resource Center
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Provides an overview of factors that may contribute to a rural healthcare facility experiencing bypass or market share loss. Offers strategies to help rural hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) increase Primary Service Area (PSA) market share and address outmigration.
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Impact! Communications, Inc., National Rural Health Resource Center
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North Dakota Critical Access Hospital Conditions of Participation (CoP) Checklist
Provides a checklist for establishing a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) in North Dakota. Details the required documentation, policies, and information needed by the state survey team to meet the CAH certification standards.
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of North Dakota Center for Rural Health
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Provides a checklist for establishing a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) in North Dakota. Details the required documentation, policies, and information needed by the state survey team to meet the CAH certification standards.
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of North Dakota Center for Rural Health
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