Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health insurance
Medicare Payment Basics: Durable Medical Equipment Payment System
Overview of Medicare payments for medical equipment used to treat beneficiaries at home. Defines durable medical equipment (DME), details the DME fee schedule, and discusses the competitive bidding program (CBP) for DME. Includes information on adjustments to fee schedule payment rates outside of competitive bidding areas (CBAs).
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Overview of Medicare payments for medical equipment used to treat beneficiaries at home. Defines durable medical equipment (DME), details the DME fee schedule, and discusses the competitive bidding program (CBP) for DME. Includes information on adjustments to fee schedule payment rates outside of competitive bidding areas (CBAs).
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Ambulance Services Payment System
Provides an overview of Medicare payments for ambulance services. Discusses rural add-on payment policies, geographic categories determining payment rates, super-rural ZIP codes, and ambulance fee schedules.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Provides an overview of Medicare payments for ambulance services. Discusses rural add-on payment policies, geographic categories determining payment rates, super-rural ZIP codes, and ambulance fee schedules.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Accountable Care Organizations Payment Systems
Provides an overview of Medicare's Accountable Care Organization (ACO) programs. Discusses the payment mechanics of ACOs, including the maximum shared savings and losses of Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs by track and level.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Provides an overview of Medicare's Accountable Care Organization (ACO) programs. Discusses the payment mechanics of ACOs, including the maximum shared savings and losses of Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs by track and level.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Critical Access Hospitals Payment System
Presents an overview of Medicare payments for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Compares differences in Medicare payments for CAHs, Sole Community Hospitals, and Medicare-Dependent Hospitals.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Presents an overview of Medicare payments for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Compares differences in Medicare payments for CAHs, Sole Community Hospitals, and Medicare-Dependent Hospitals.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Sociodemographic Inequities in Telemedicine Use Among US Patients Initiating Treatment in Community Cancer Centers During the Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2022
Evaluates demographic factors associated with use of telehealth within 90 days after starting cancer treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, utilizing March 2020-March 2023 data of 36,993 cancer patients. Includes data on telehealth inequities by race and ethnicity, insurance, socioeconomic status, rurality, and more.
Author(s): Jenny S. Guadamuz, Xiaoliang Wang, Trevor J. Royce, Gregory S. Calip
Citation: JCO Oncology Practice, 19(12), 1206-1214
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
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Evaluates demographic factors associated with use of telehealth within 90 days after starting cancer treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, utilizing March 2020-March 2023 data of 36,993 cancer patients. Includes data on telehealth inequities by race and ethnicity, insurance, socioeconomic status, rurality, and more.
Author(s): Jenny S. Guadamuz, Xiaoliang Wang, Trevor J. Royce, Gregory S. Calip
Citation: JCO Oncology Practice, 19(12), 1206-1214
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
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Environmental Scan on Encouraging Rural Participation in Population-Based TCOC Models
Presents results of an environmental scan regarding population-based total cost of care (PB-TCOC) payment models and encouraging rural participation in these models. Describes challenges affecting rural patients and providers; opportunities for alternative payment models (APMs) and PB-TCOC models to address challenges in rural areas; trends in rural providers' participation in APMs; driving care delivery transformation in rural providers, including models that include or target rural participants in their model designs; leveraging financial incentives to improve rural health care; adoption and use of health information technology, including telehealth and data analytics among rural providers; and the measurement of rural providers' performance in APMs.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Presents results of an environmental scan regarding population-based total cost of care (PB-TCOC) payment models and encouraging rural participation in these models. Describes challenges affecting rural patients and providers; opportunities for alternative payment models (APMs) and PB-TCOC models to address challenges in rural areas; trends in rural providers' participation in APMs; driving care delivery transformation in rural providers, including models that include or target rural participants in their model designs; leveraging financial incentives to improve rural health care; adoption and use of health information technology, including telehealth and data analytics among rural providers; and the measurement of rural providers' performance in APMs.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Sustaining Essential Rural Health Services Through Changes in Payment and Related Public Policies
Presentation slides that discuss payment policies and models, Medicare and Medicaid, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), commercial plans, value-based care, and more, with data and maps illustrating impacts in specific areas.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller
Date: 09/2023
Type: Presentation Slides
Sponsoring organizations: Iowa Department of Health Management and Policy, Rural Policy Research Institute
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Presentation slides that discuss payment policies and models, Medicare and Medicaid, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), commercial plans, value-based care, and more, with data and maps illustrating impacts in specific areas.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller
Date: 09/2023
Type: Presentation Slides
Sponsoring organizations: Iowa Department of Health Management and Policy, Rural Policy Research Institute
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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
Type: Document
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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RAND Corporation
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New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department 2023-2024 Annual Progress and Services Plan (APSR)
Reports on progress made towards outcomes in the areas of child welfare services, early childhood services, behavioral health services, and juvenile justice services. Addresses issues specific to rural areas, collaboration with tribes in the state, and coordination with the state Medicaid system for the behavioral and physical health needs of children, families, and youth in New Mexico.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department
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Reports on progress made towards outcomes in the areas of child welfare services, early childhood services, behavioral health services, and juvenile justice services. Addresses issues specific to rural areas, collaboration with tribes in the state, and coordination with the state Medicaid system for the behavioral and physical health needs of children, families, and youth in New Mexico.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services Meeting Summary, Colorado Springs, Colorado, September 6-8, 2023
Summarizes the 93nd meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS), which was held in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Presents an overview of national and state perspectives on disability and independence in rural communities.
Additional links: Lincoln County Human Services Site Visit Summary
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Summarizes the 93nd meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS), which was held in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Presents an overview of national and state perspectives on disability and independence in rural communities.
Additional links: Lincoln County Human Services Site Visit Summary
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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