Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance
2021 Final Marketplace Special Enrollment Period Report
Provides data on the 2021 Special Enrollment Period (SEP), describing the number of Americans who enrolled in the individual, federally-sponsored Health insurance Marketplace. Table 4 provides demographic and plan characteristics by sex, age, rural status, household income, and more.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Provides data on the 2021 Special Enrollment Period (SEP), describing the number of Americans who enrolled in the individual, federally-sponsored Health insurance Marketplace. Table 4 provides demographic and plan characteristics by sex, age, rural status, household income, and more.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Evaluation of the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration: Report Covering 2005-2017 (Interim Report 1)
Provides an overview of the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration (RCHD). Describes the characteristics of RCHD participants that entered the demonstration between 2005-2012, the Medicare payments received under program, and the impact of the RCHD on hospital finances between 2005-2017.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Provides an overview of the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration (RCHD). Describes the characteristics of RCHD participants that entered the demonstration between 2005-2012, the Medicare payments received under program, and the impact of the RCHD on hospital finances between 2005-2017.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs for CY 2022
Comments on an August 4, 2021, Federal Register proposed rule revising the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ACS) payment system for calendar year 2022. Includes considerations for Rural Emergency Hospital payments and emergency department staffing requirements.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Comments on an August 4, 2021, Federal Register proposed rule revising the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ACS) payment system for calendar year 2022. Includes considerations for Rural Emergency Hospital payments and emergency department staffing requirements.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Air Ambulance Use and Surprise Billing
Provides an overview of air ambulance services, including the types and number of air ambulance providers and suppliers, utilization rates by patients, average costs, and the potential for balance billing for air ambulance transport. Summarizes key policies and legislation related to air ambulances, including the No Surprises Act. Presents data on air ambulance utilization by rurality between 2014-2018.
Author(s): Gina Turrini, Joel Ruhter, Andre R. Chappel, Nancy De Lew
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Provides an overview of air ambulance services, including the types and number of air ambulance providers and suppliers, utilization rates by patients, average costs, and the potential for balance billing for air ambulance transport. Summarizes key policies and legislation related to air ambulances, including the No Surprises Act. Presents data on air ambulance utilization by rurality between 2014-2018.
Author(s): Gina Turrini, Joel Ruhter, Andre R. Chappel, Nancy De Lew
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Revisions to Part B for CY 2022
Comment on a July 23, 2021, Federal Register proposed rule revising the physician fee schedule to improve payment systems for physicians and other Medicare Part B revisions. Includes a discussion of the expansion of telehealth service coverage after the COVID-19 public health emergency, as well as reimbursement rates to Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers for telehealth mental health services.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Comment on a July 23, 2021, Federal Register proposed rule revising the physician fee schedule to improve payment systems for physicians and other Medicare Part B revisions. Includes a discussion of the expansion of telehealth service coverage after the COVID-19 public health emergency, as well as reimbursement rates to Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers for telehealth mental health services.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Geographic Access to Health Care for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries: A National Study
Policy brief exploring rural and urban healthcare, geographic access to providers, and types of providers seen by Medicare beneficiaries based on Medicare administrative data from 2014. Charts offer rural and urban comparisons of characteristics of beneficiaries, number of visits by region, number of visits by race/ethnicity, visits by provider type, and travel distance and time.
Author(s): Eric H. Larson, C. Holly A. Andrilla, Lisa A. Garberson, David V. Evans
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Policy brief exploring rural and urban healthcare, geographic access to providers, and types of providers seen by Medicare beneficiaries based on Medicare administrative data from 2014. Charts offer rural and urban comparisons of characteristics of beneficiaries, number of visits by region, number of visits by race/ethnicity, visits by provider type, and travel distance and time.
Author(s): Eric H. Larson, C. Holly A. Andrilla, Lisa A. Garberson, David V. Evans
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Provider Relief Fund Reporting Portal
Recording of a September 2, 2021, webinar on the COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund (PRF) program. Provides an overview of the PRF program. Discusses reporting requirements and time periods, methodology for calculating lost revenues, and considerations for Rural Health Clinics. Includes answers to frequently asked questions. Part of the Rural Health Clinic Technical Assistance Series.
Additional links: Presentation Slides, Transcript
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organizations: Health Resources and Services Administration, National Association of Rural Health Clinics
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Recording of a September 2, 2021, webinar on the COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund (PRF) program. Provides an overview of the PRF program. Discusses reporting requirements and time periods, methodology for calculating lost revenues, and considerations for Rural Health Clinics. Includes answers to frequently asked questions. Part of the Rural Health Clinic Technical Assistance Series.
Additional links: Presentation Slides, Transcript
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organizations: Health Resources and Services Administration, National Association of Rural Health Clinics
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Medicare Covers a Lower Percentage of Outpatient Costs in Hospitals Located in Rural Areas
Policy brief describing differences in Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) payments between urban and rural hospitals. Features statistics on OPPS payments as a percent of total net patient revenue, as a percent of Medicare outpatient cost by hospital payment classification, and as a percent of Medicare outpatient cost by number of acute beds, with breakdowns by urban and rural location.
Author(s): Pranathi Sana, George H. Pink
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Policy brief describing differences in Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) payments between urban and rural hospitals. Features statistics on OPPS payments as a percent of total net patient revenue, as a percent of Medicare outpatient cost by hospital payment classification, and as a percent of Medicare outpatient cost by number of acute beds, with breakdowns by urban and rural location.
Author(s): Pranathi Sana, George H. Pink
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Keeping the Doors Open: Vulnerable Rural Hospitals Benefit from Federally Funded Technical Assistance
Features the work of Texas A&M's Center for Optimizing Rural Health (CORH), which provides technical assistance through a federally funded program for vulnerable hospitals. Highlights the experiences of a participating Oklahoma hospital.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Features the work of Texas A&M's Center for Optimizing Rural Health (CORH), which provides technical assistance through a federally funded program for vulnerable hospitals. Highlights the experiences of a participating Oklahoma hospital.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Higher Electronic Health Record (EHR) Functionality Lowers Urban Hospital Costs but Rural Impacts Are Minimal
Examines the relationship between electronic health record (EHR) functionality and hospital costs. Compares the effect of increasing EHR functionality in urban and rural hospitals and by inpatient and outpatient service categories.
Author(s): Claudia Alejandra Rhoades, Brian E. Whitacre, Alison F. Davis
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Center for Economic Analysis of Rural Health
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Examines the relationship between electronic health record (EHR) functionality and hospital costs. Compares the effect of increasing EHR functionality in urban and rural hospitals and by inpatient and outpatient service categories.
Author(s): Claudia Alejandra Rhoades, Brian E. Whitacre, Alison F. Davis
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Center for Economic Analysis of Rural Health
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