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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance

Urban Hospitals with a High Percentage of Inpatient Days for Rural Patients
Results of a study evaluating differences in urban hospitals with high and low percentages of rural inpatient days. Features a map showing locations of urban hospitals with greater than 40% rural inpatient days and statistics on urban hospitals with breakdowns by rural inpatient day percentage categories and Medicare payment classifications.
Author(s): Randall John, Kathleen Knocke, George H. Pink
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Evaluation of the Accountable Care Organization Investment Model: Final Report
Examines the ACO Investment Model (AIM) over three performance years. AIM tested the use of prepaid shared savings to encourage new ACOs to form in rural and underserved areas and to encourage current Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs to transition to arrangements with greater financial risk. Reports on AIM results related to ACO formation, risk-taking, and sustainability, including the impact of rurality. Also discusses impacts on healthcare costs, utilization, and quality of care.
Additional links: Appendices, CMS Perspective Report, Findings at a Glance
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Abt Associates, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Evaluation of the Health Care Innovation Awards, Round 2: Final Report
Summarizes the final evaluation results of 38 Health Care Innovation Awards Round Two projects. Discusses program impacts on healthcare service use and costs, factors associated with positive impacts, and awardees' experiences sustaining programs and implementing payment models after the end of the awards. Offers overall findings and awardee-specific evaluation reports. Includes some information on results for projects serving rural areas.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mathematica Policy Research
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Uninsured Rates Across Kansas Counties, September 2020
Provides data and statistics on uninsured rates in Kansas. Fact sheets feature state maps with county-level information on child and adult uninsured rates and numbers, as well as potential eligibility for Medicaid and KanCare. Includes rural and urban comparisons.
Author(s): Phillip Steiner, Wen-Chieh Lin
Date: 09/2020
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
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Rural Action Plan
Provides an overview of the rural health care and human services landscape. Outlines a Four-Point strategy to build a sustainable health and human services model for rural communities, leverage technology and innovation, focus on preventing disease and mortality, and increase rural access to care. Identifies opportunities to transform rural health and human services through federal government partnership and describes new policies and programs to implement the Four-Point Strategy. Highlights actions already taken by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support rural communities.
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the ESRD PPS for CY 2021
Comments on a July 13, 2020, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Includes comments addressing the ESRD Quality Incentive Program and changes to geographic area delineations.
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Rural Success: Paris Community Hospital, IL
Describes the quality improvement efforts of Paris Community Hospital in rural Paris, Illinois. Highlights the success of the emergency department's communication with other departments and facilities and opportunities to improve the hospital's antibiotic stewardship.
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Stratis Health
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COVID-19 Reveals Emerging Opportunities for Rural Public Health
Explores potential and existing public health innovations that rural communities can implement to address challenges brought on or exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, including lack of funding for local health departments, insufficient broadband, and more. Describes the expansion of telehealth services, discusses rural/urban disparities, and offers recommendations for improvement.
Author(s): Angela Dearinger
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 110(9), 1277-1278
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
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State Innovation Model (SIM) Summative Evaluation Report: Activities and Goal Evaluation Award Year 2-4 (AY2-4)
Summarizes the process and implementation activities of the State Innovation Model (SIM) test grant program in Iowa during award years 2 through 4, which spanned November 2016 through April 2019. SIM test awards are administered by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center and allow states to implement and test strategies for health system transformation that meet the specific needs of residents of each state. Describes the process evaluation of SIM implementation activities and results of the 2016 and 2018 statewide evaluation surveys. Presents data on outcome measures regarding access and cost of care, diabetes, obesity, and tobacco use.
Author(s): Tessa Heeren, Rochelle Schultz Spinarski, Elizabeth Momany, et al.
Date: 08/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Social Science Innovation
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COVID-19 Testing - What RHCs Are Doing For Their Communities
Recording of an August 27, 2020, webinar discussing the efforts of three rural health clinics (RHCs) to provide COVID-19 testing services using COVID-19 funding in rural communities of South-Central Idaho, Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Northern Wisconsin, and Eastern North Carolina. Covers the challenges related to the availability of COVID-18 testing instruments and test kits, testing capacity and turnaround time, the provision of treatment for patients with COVID-19, and the RHC data collection requirement. Part of the Rural Health Clinic Technical Assistance Series.
Additional links: Presentation Slides, Transcript
Date: 08/2020
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Rural Health Clinics
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