Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health insurance
Risk Adjustment in the Medicare Advantage Population Using Encounter Data
Examines the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) risk model by comparing 2016-2022 Traditional Medicare (TM) claims and Medicare Advantage (MA) encounter data. Analyzes differences in the TM-based model and MA-based model and discusses risk-adjusted MA payment, MA payment policy, and enrollment incentives for various populations, including rural.
Author(s): Caroline S. Carlin, Roger Feldman, Jeah Jung
Citation: Health Services Research, 61(5), e70165
Date: 10/2026
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Examines the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) risk model by comparing 2016-2022 Traditional Medicare (TM) claims and Medicare Advantage (MA) encounter data. Analyzes differences in the TM-based model and MA-based model and discusses risk-adjusted MA payment, MA payment policy, and enrollment incentives for various populations, including rural.
Author(s): Caroline S. Carlin, Roger Feldman, Jeah Jung
Citation: Health Services Research, 61(5), e70165
Date: 10/2026
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2026 RHC Billing 101 - Fall
Recording of a September 3, 2026, webinar providing an overview of traditional Medicare billing guidelines for Rural Health Clinics. Part of the Rural Health Clinic Technical Assistance Series.
Additional links: Presentation Slides
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Rural Health Clinics
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Recording of a September 3, 2026, webinar providing an overview of traditional Medicare billing guidelines for Rural Health Clinics. Part of the Rural Health Clinic Technical Assistance Series.
Additional links: Presentation Slides
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Rural Health Clinics
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September 2026 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) September 2026 meeting. Covers the context for Medicare payment policy, issues relating to Medicare Part D and potential policy directions, MedPAC's work plan regarding ambulatory surgical centers, the use of post-acute care services by beneficiaries in fee-for-service Medicare and Medicare Advantage, and Medicare Advantage risk adjustment at the plan level.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) September 2026 meeting. Covers the context for Medicare payment policy, issues relating to Medicare Part D and potential policy directions, MedPAC's work plan regarding ambulatory surgical centers, the use of post-acute care services by beneficiaries in fee-for-service Medicare and Medicare Advantage, and Medicare Advantage risk adjustment at the plan level.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Advantage: Plan Options and Enrollment Trends in Arkansas
Explains how Medicare Advantage plans affect healthcare delivery, Medicare enrollment, and payment practices in Arkansas. Includes discussion of reimbursement challenges in rural hospitals.
Author(s): Jennifer Wessel, Chris Ray
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Arkansas Center for Health Improvement
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Explains how Medicare Advantage plans affect healthcare delivery, Medicare enrollment, and payment practices in Arkansas. Includes discussion of reimbursement challenges in rural hospitals.
Author(s): Jennifer Wessel, Chris Ray
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Arkansas Center for Health Improvement
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High-Deductible Health Plans in Rural and Urban Populations: Outpatient Utilization and Out-of-Pocket Costs
Policy brief exploring rural-urban differences in High-Deductible Health Plan enrollment, subsequent healthcare use, and out-of-pocket costs. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by urban and rural areas.
Author(s): Aaron P. Smith, Jeffery Talbert
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
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Policy brief exploring rural-urban differences in High-Deductible Health Plan enrollment, subsequent healthcare use, and out-of-pocket costs. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by urban and rural areas.
Author(s): Aaron P. Smith, Jeffery Talbert
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
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Top Provider Enrollment Mistakes in Rural Primary Care & Behavioral Health - and How to Fix Them
Recording of an August 31, 2026, webinar describing common Medicare provider enrollment mistakes that can result in application denials, credentialing delays, disrupted cash flows, and more. Identifies practical strategies to prevent or address these errors.
Additional links: Presentation Slides
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Rural Health Clinics
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Recording of an August 31, 2026, webinar describing common Medicare provider enrollment mistakes that can result in application denials, credentialing delays, disrupted cash flows, and more. Identifies practical strategies to prevent or address these errors.
Additional links: Presentation Slides
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Rural Health Clinics
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Home Health Prospective Payment System for CY 2027
Comments on a July 6, 2026, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for home health agencies. Includes comments regarding permanent and temporary budget-neutrality adjustments and durable medical equipment and provider enrollment provisions, as well as comments in response to a request for information on the construction of a home health-specific wage index.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Comments on a July 6, 2026, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for home health agencies. Includes comments regarding permanent and temporary budget-neutrality adjustments and durable medical equipment and provider enrollment provisions, as well as comments in response to a request for information on the construction of a home health-specific wage index.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Payment Systems for Hospital Outpatient Departments and Ambulatory Surgical Centers for CY 2027
Comment on the July 7, 2026, Federal Register proposed rule revising the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) payment system for calendar year 2027. Includes considerations for expansion of site-neutral payments for imaging without contrast services under the OPPS, the continued use of the hospital market basket to update ASC payment rates, the reduction of OPPS payment rates for 340B-acquired drugs, and more.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Comment on the July 7, 2026, Federal Register proposed rule revising the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) payment system for calendar year 2027. Includes considerations for expansion of site-neutral payments for imaging without contrast services under the OPPS, the continued use of the hospital market basket to update ASC payment rates, the reduction of OPPS payment rates for 340B-acquired drugs, and more.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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2026 Annual Insurance Update: Health Insurance in Kansas
Reports on health insurance coverage across Kansas and nationwide, presenting 2009-2024 trends in coverage. Includes 2023 county-level data on uninsured rates by age group as well as Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment. Compares uninsurance rates across frontier, rural, densely-settled rural, semi-urban, and urban county location.
Author(s): Kaci Cink, Viktoria Sterkhova, Cynthia Snyder, Wen-Chieh Lin
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
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Reports on health insurance coverage across Kansas and nationwide, presenting 2009-2024 trends in coverage. Includes 2023 county-level data on uninsured rates by age group as well as Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment. Compares uninsurance rates across frontier, rural, densely-settled rural, semi-urban, and urban county location.
Author(s): Kaci Cink, Viktoria Sterkhova, Cynthia Snyder, Wen-Chieh Lin
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
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Availability of Rural Hospitals Providing Inpatient Maternity Care in Medicaid
Examines the availability of hospitals offering inpatient maternity care in rural areas to Medicaid enrollees. Describes the median drive time between rural hospitals and the next closest in-state hospital that provides inpatient maternity care to Medicaid enrollees by state. Includes data on the number of urban and rural hospitals providing these services in each state in 2023.
Author(s): Rhiannon Euhus, Brittni Frederiksen, Alice Burns
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Examines the availability of hospitals offering inpatient maternity care in rural areas to Medicaid enrollees. Describes the median drive time between rural hospitals and the next closest in-state hospital that provides inpatient maternity care to Medicaid enrollees by state. Includes data on the number of urban and rural hospitals providing these services in each state in 2023.
Author(s): Rhiannon Euhus, Brittni Frederiksen, Alice Burns
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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