Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health insurance
Medicare Payment Basics: Hospital Acute Inpatient Services Payment System
Overview of Medicare payments to hospitals for acute inpatient care. Includes information on rate setting, Medicare payments for medical education, payments to Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH), new technology payments special payments for rural hospitals, quality incentive payments and penalties, and payment rate updates.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Overview of Medicare payments to hospitals for acute inpatient care. Includes information on rate setting, Medicare payments for medical education, payments to Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH), new technology payments special payments for rural hospitals, quality incentive payments and penalties, and payment rate updates.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Services Payment System
Overview of Medicare's payment system for inpatient psychiatric services provided in freestanding hospitals or specialized hospital-based units. Demonstrates how payments for these services are adjusted to reflect geographic differences in labor costs, and cost of care by facility and patient characteristics.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Overview of Medicare's payment system for inpatient psychiatric services provided in freestanding hospitals or specialized hospital-based units. Demonstrates how payments for these services are adjusted to reflect geographic differences in labor costs, and cost of care by facility and patient characteristics.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Medicare Advantage Program Payment System
Overview of Medicare payments to Medicare Advantage (MA) local and regional plans discussing the methods for determining Medicare payments to both plans.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Overview of Medicare payments to Medicare Advantage (MA) local and regional plans discussing the methods for determining Medicare payments to both plans.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Rural Communities at Greater Risk of Harmful Impacts from New Medicaid Work Reporting Requirements
Examines how new federal Medicaid work reporting requirements will affect people living in rural areas. Provides data on rural Medicaid enrollment, disability prevalence, and health status, and details rural-specific barriers to meeting and documenting compliance with work requirements.
Author(s): Adam Searing, Joan Alker
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Center for Children and Families, Georgetown University
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Examines how new federal Medicaid work reporting requirements will affect people living in rural areas. Provides data on rural Medicaid enrollment, disability prevalence, and health status, and details rural-specific barriers to meeting and documenting compliance with work requirements.
Author(s): Adam Searing, Joan Alker
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Center for Children and Families, Georgetown University
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Dashboard: Arkansas Medicare Advantage Enrollment by Organization
Provides data on Medicare Advantage enrollment totals in Arkansas by organization, county, and year.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Arkansas Center for Health Improvement
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Provides data on Medicare Advantage enrollment totals in Arkansas by organization, county, and year.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Arkansas Center for Health Improvement
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September 2026 MACPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission's (MACPAC) September 2026 meeting. Covers community engagement requirements in Medicaid, state directed payments and healthcare-related taxes, a comparison of an updated inpatient hospital payment index across states, utilization management for medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in Medicaid, and Medicaid coverage of assistive technology for adults, among other things. Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Medicaid Coverage of Assistive Technology for Adults: Data Analysis and Stakeholder Interviews
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Transcript from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission's (MACPAC) September 2026 meeting. Covers community engagement requirements in Medicaid, state directed payments and healthcare-related taxes, a comparison of an updated inpatient hospital payment index across states, utilization management for medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in Medicaid, and Medicaid coverage of assistive technology for adults, among other things. Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Medicaid Coverage of Assistive Technology for Adults: Data Analysis and Stakeholder Interviews
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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2025 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Performance Feedback FAQs for Small Practices
Provides answers to frequently asked questions about the 2025 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) performance feedback for small practices. Includes information on how to access and navigate performance feedback, as well as performance category reweighting and redistribution.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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Provides answers to frequently asked questions about the 2025 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) performance feedback for small practices. Includes information on how to access and navigate performance feedback, as well as performance category reweighting and redistribution.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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Telehealth and Federally Qualified Health Centers
Provides an overview of state policies relating to Medicaid fee-for-service coverage and reimbursement of telehealth services at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) as of May 2026. Includes state-by-state information on FQHC eligibility for reimbursement for being originating and distant sites, store-and-forward services, audio-only services, remote patient monitoring, and more.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Community Health Centers
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Provides an overview of state policies relating to Medicaid fee-for-service coverage and reimbursement of telehealth services at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) as of May 2026. Includes state-by-state information on FQHC eligibility for reimbursement for being originating and distant sites, store-and-forward services, audio-only services, remote patient monitoring, and more.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Community Health Centers
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Scaling Food Is Medicine Through Primary Care: Three Strategies for States
Examines strategies to connect Medicaid recipients to Food is Medicine (FIM) interventions through primary care providers. Discusses how strategies, such as investing in care coordination and partnering with community-based organizations, may be valuable in rural communities.
Author(s): Amanda Bank
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Examines strategies to connect Medicaid recipients to Food is Medicine (FIM) interventions through primary care providers. Discusses how strategies, such as investing in care coordination and partnering with community-based organizations, may be valuable in rural communities.
Author(s): Amanda Bank
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Mental Health Care Access in Rural Communities amid the Expansion of Telehealth
Analyzes National Health Interview Survey and Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data to explore how mental healthcare access has changed for rural and urban residents as telehealth services have expanded. Discusses findings regarding publicly insured, privately insured, and self-pay patients.
Author(s): Anja Gruber, Anders Van Sandt, Scott Loveridge, Craig Carpenter, Cris Meier
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 4(9)
Date: 09/2026
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Analyzes National Health Interview Survey and Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data to explore how mental healthcare access has changed for rural and urban residents as telehealth services have expanded. Discusses findings regarding publicly insured, privately insured, and self-pay patients.
Author(s): Anja Gruber, Anders Van Sandt, Scott Loveridge, Craig Carpenter, Cris Meier
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 4(9)
Date: 09/2026
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