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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance

Small Area Health Insurance Estimates: 2016
Reports on health insurance coverage in the U.S. in 2016 and changes between 2015 and 2016, as well as changes between 2013 and 2016. Includes maps showing county-level uninsured rates.
Additional links: SAHIE Report Maps, 2016
Author(s): Lauren Bowers, Carolyn Gann, Rachel Upton
Date: 03/2018
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Geographic Variation in the 2016 Profitability of Urban and Rural Hospitals
Findings brief describing differences in profitability of Critical Access Hospitals, other rural hospitals, and urban Prospective Payment Systems hospitals, with breakdowns by census region, census division, and state.
Author(s): George H. Pink, Kristie Thompson, H. Ann Howard, Mark Holmes
Date: 03/2018
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123): Brief Summary of Division E--The Advancing Chronic Care, Extenders, and Social Services (ACCESS) Act
Brief summary of ACCESS Act provisions, and names of experts knowledgeable about each point. Topics include Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), public health, child and family services, foster care, social impact partnerships, child support enforcement, and prison data reporting. Features provisions specific to institutions and services in rural areas, including hospitals, home health, and ambulance services.
Date: 03/2018
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Insurers Remaining in Affordable Care Act Markets Prepared for Continued Uncertainty in 2018, 2019
Results of interviews with 10 insurance companies that participate in the individual market in 28 states and the District of Columbia, regarding their participation and pricing decisions for plan years 2018 and 2019.
Author(s): Sabrina Corlette, Linda Blumberg, John Holahan, et al.
Date: 03/2018
Sponsoring organizations: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Urban Institute
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2018
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses Medicare Part D, Medicare Advantage, telehealth, payment incentive programs, and payment adequacy for healthcare facilities and services.
Additional links: Chapter 14 Online-Only Appendixes: The Medicare Prescription Drug Program (Part D): Status Report (March 2018 Report, Revised June 25, 2018), Chapter 16 Online-Only Appendixes: Mandated Report: Telehealth Services and the Medicare Program (March 2018 report), Errata Sheet: Table 9-7, Page 255 (March 2018 Report, Revised May 30, 2018)
Date: 03/2018
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, March 2018
Reports on three aspects of Medicaid: managed care, telehealth, and Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments. Chapter 2 discusses how the use of telehealth services can help patients access healthcare services in rural and frontier areas. Chapter 3 includes the third annual report on DSH payments, which provide support to safety-net hospitals to help offset uncompensated care costs for Medicaid and uninsured patients. Table 3-2 identifies DSH spending for urban and rural hospitals and for Critical Access Hospitals.
Date: 03/2018
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Residential Settings and Healthcare Use of the Rural "Oldest-Old" Medicare Population
Results of a study using Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data to profile rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries ages 85+ in terms of their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, residential settings, health and functional status, and healthcare use. Features statistics on these topics with breakdowns by rural and urban location.
Author(s): Nathan Paluso, Zachariah Croll, Deborah Thayer, Jean A. Talbot, Andrew F. Coburn
Date: 03/2018
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Behavioral Health Integration into Primary Care
Profile of a rural health system, Western Wisconsin Health (WWH), and its work to deliver behavioral health services. Provides an overview of how behavioral health providers and services were integrated with primary care, with a change to focus on whole-person care. Includes information on Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for the behavioral health services provided at WWH's Rural Health Clinic. Discusses how WWH behavioral health providers offer telehealth services to other rural areas of Wisconsin.
Date: 03/2018
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Competition and Premium Costs in Single-insurer Marketplaces: A Study of Five Rural States
Examines participation in the individual health insurance market from 2010, before the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), through 2017 and analyzes premium changes in 5 rural states with a single-insurer health insurance marketplace. States include Alabama, Alaska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wyoming.
Author(s): Jon R. Gabel, Heidi Whitmore, Matthew Green, Sam Stromberg
Date: 03/2018
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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Body Mass Index and Rural Status on Self-Reported Health in Older Adults: 2002-2012 Medicare Expenditure Panel Survey
Presents a study comparing self-reported mental and physical health of older adults with rural status and obesity status. Pulls data from the Medicare Expenditure Panel Survey and breaks it down by age, race, and marital status, among other factors.
Author(s): John A. Batsis, Karen L. Whiteman, Matthew C. Lohman, Emily A. Scherer, Stephen J. Bartels
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 34(Suppl1), s56-s64
Date: 02/2018
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