Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance

Strategic Choice in Developing Telemedicine - Observations from Three Organizations
Discusses organizational considerations such as local and regional market conditions and economics for hospital systems incorporating telemedicine into their healthcare services. Features a literature review and results of interviews with Kaiser Permanente Southern California, the Mayo Clinic Center for Connected Care, and the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Explores challenges and plans for expansion of services to underserved areas.
Author(s): Thomas Vaughn, Fred Ullrich, Muska Nataliansyah, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute
view details
Access to Specialty Care for Medicare Beneficiaries in Rural Communities
Findings from a voluntary online survey conducted in 2019 of 111 Rural Health Clinic (RHC) staff, from 27 states, to identify the most difficult specialty healthcare service to access, and why it is the most difficult to access. Conducts an analysis of RHC distance to the nearest hospital or clinic to determine variation in difficulty accessing specialty services.
Author(s): Megan Lahr, Hannah Neprash, Carrie Henning-Smith, Mariana S. Tuttle, Ashley M. Hernandez
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
view details
Access and Capacity to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries in Rural Health Clinics
Findings from a voluntary online survey conducted in 2019 of 111 Rural Health Clinic (RHC) staff from 27 states, to better understand how they address issues on accessibility, capacity, flexibility of services, and other clinic characteristics for Medicare beneficiaries, and to identify any gaps in healthcare.
Author(s): Megan Lahr, Carrie Henning-Smith, Ashley M. Hernandez, Hannah Neprash
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
view details
Impact of the Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital Payment Cap on Rural and Urban Hospitals
Describes the number and location of hospitals that qualify for Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments and meet the criteria for a 12% payment cap. Examines how the payment cap and lost revenue impacts urban and rural hospitals. Presents options to modify DSH payments to ease the financial strain on rural hospitals.
Author(s): Paula Weigel, Fred Ullrich, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
view details
The Uninsured in New Mexico
Analysis of the nonelderly uninsured population in New Mexico by 9 substate regions for state policymakers drafting policies and outreach to expand health insurance coverage within the state. Includes demographic, employment, citizenship, and family income characteristics for this population, with a special focus on uninsured American Indians in the state. Presents estimates of the distribution of the uninsured population by their eligibility for Medicaid and other health insurance programs.
Author(s): Jessica S. Banthin, Matthew Buettgens, Linda J. Blumberg, Robin Wang, Clare Wang Pan
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Urban Institute
view details
Taney County Health Department: Accreditation and Holding to a Higher Standard
Describes how Missouri's Taney County Health Department has used voluntary national and state accreditation to help meet their county's public health needs. Offers tips for other rural public health departments considering accreditation.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Understanding Rural Health Departments: Do They Have Unique Accreditation Needs?
Discusses how governance, organizational size, and other factors impact rural local health departments' ability to pursue voluntary accreditation.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
It's Possible: Voluntary Accreditation for Rural Public Health Departments
Provides an overview of the public health department accreditation process. Discusses service differences between rural and urban public health departments. Offers advice for rural departments pursuing accreditation.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Evaluation of the Initiative to Reduce Avoidable Hospitalizations among Nursing Facility Residents-Payment Reform
Third annual report evaluating a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Innovation payment model intended to reduce avoidable hospitalizations for long-term care nursing facility residents by offering incentives for the provision of in-house care to eligible residents, rather than a transfer to a hospital for treatment. Presents details on the effect of the payment model on Medicare expenditures in the participating states: Alabama, Missouri, Indiana, Nevada, New York, and Pennsylvania. Discusses the implication of the payment model in rural facilities.
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details
Rural-Urban Differences in Access to and Attitudes Toward Care for Medicare Beneficiaries
Results of a study using data from the 2016 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey to analyze differences between rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries in terms of travel time to usual provider, access barriers, and attitudes toward seeking care.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Ashley M. Hernandez, Megan Lahr
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
view details