Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance

Rural ACO Leaders Speak: What Have Been the Biggest Challenges and the Biggest Advantages to Creating Your ACO?
Five rural Accountable Care Organization (ACO) leaders discuss the biggest challenges and advantages they've experienced in building an ACO.
Author(s): Zachary Toliver
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 03/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Access to Rural Home Health Services: Views from the Field
Describes current issues affecting access to rural home health services, with an emphasis on Medicare-reimbursed programs. Based on published research, gray literature, and telephone interviews with 40 key informants from 19 states between May 2014 and March 2015. Discusses challenges and barriers to access as well as possible solutions.
Author(s): Susan M. Skillman, Davis G. Patterson, Cynthia Coulthard, Tracy M. Mroz
Date: 02/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Report to Congress on Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital Payments
First annual report on Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments, which provide support to safety-net hospitals to help offset uncompensated care costs for Medicaid and uninsured patients. Discusses Medicaid policy, current and future DSH allotments, and data needs. Table B-3 projects FY2018 DSH payments under different scenarios, with data for urban and rural hospitals and for Critical Access Hospitals.
Date: 02/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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CMS Manual System: Revisions to Medicare State Operations Manual, Chapter 9 - Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Recertification Checklist: Rural and Distance or Necessary Provider Verification
Provides a list of the necessary components to be confirmed when Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) are surveyed for recertification to determine if they meet the rural location and distance or necessary provider requirements to maintain their CAH status. Identifies the procedures used by the CMS Regional Office and state survey agencies to determine if CAHs meet the necessary requirements.
Date: 02/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Guiding Innovations to Improve the Oral Health of Adult Medicaid Beneficiaries
Highlights several innovative ideas for providing oral healthcare to Medicaid-enrolled adults by discussing consumer outreach and engagement, workforce and training, access and delivery in rural and urban areas, and return on investment and business models.
Author(s): Stacey Chazin
Date: 01/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Geographic Variation in Risk of Financial Distress among Rural Hospitals
Discusses the geographic variation in the number of rural hospitals predicted to be at high risk for closure in 2015 as assigned by the Financial Distress Index (FDI) model. The FDI model uses existing hospital financial performance, government reimbursement, and organizational and market characteristics to determine risk levels associated with financial distress.
Author(s): Brystana Kaufman, Regina Rutledge, George Pink, Mark Holmes
Date: 01/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Prediction of Financial Distress among Rural Hospitals
Explains the concept of the Financial Distress Index (FDI), which seeks to predict and analyze financial distress among rural hospitals. Examines the predictive ability of the FDI by scoring rural hospitals using financial data from previous years' cost reports.
Author(s): Brystana Kaufman, George Pink, Mark Holmes
Date: 01/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Community Health Workers: Roles and Opportunities in Health Care Delivery System Reform
Identifies and discusses health services research on the utilization and integration of Community Health Workers (CHWs) into healthcare service delivery. Includes an analysis regarding the various CHW models, employment data, training and credentialing, and challenges associated with the development of this occupation.
Author(s): John E. Snyder
Date: 01/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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2016 Rural Hospital Replacement Facility Study
Examines the effects of facility replacement on rural Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), including service volumes, operating efficiency, financial performance, and healthcare quality.
Date: 2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: National Rural Health Association, Stroudwater Associates
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Directory: Delta States Rural Development Network Grant Program 2016-2019
A directory of the Delta States Rural Development Grant Program in the 2016-2019 funding cycle. Includes a program overview and contact information for each of the twelve grantees. The Delta States region comprises Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.
Date: 2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
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