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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance

Impact of Conversion to Critical Access Hospital Status on Hospital Financial Performance and Condition
Policy brief analyzing financial ratios associated with Critical Access Hospitals' profitability, liquidity, and capital structure.
Author(s): Mark Holmes, George H. Pink, Rebecca T. Slifkin
Date: 11/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Health, United States, 2006: With Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans
Presents an annual overview of national trends in health statistics. Covers health status and determinants, healthcare utilization, access, and expenditures. Includes data on rural areas - see index under "metropolitan/nonmetropolitan data." 2006 edition includes a special feature on pain.
Date: 11/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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The Implementation of Pay-For-Performance in Rural Hospitals: Lessons from the Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration Project
Reports the findings of a national study designed to identify institutional, organizational, and environmental factors that influence the experience of rural hospitals in the Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration Project.
Author(s): Walter Gregg, Ira Moscovice, Denise Remus
Date: 09/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health & Human Services Meeting Minutes, Grand Forks, North Dakota, September 28-30, 2006
Minutes from a National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services meeting addressing the following topics: substance abuse, Head Start, and Medicare Advantage.
Date: 09/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Medicare Physician Payment: Impacts of Changes on Rural Physicians
Presents an overview of the effects of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003 on physician payment rates in rural areas.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller, A. Clinton MacKinney, Timothy D. McBride
Date: 09/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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A Primer on the Occupational Mix Adjustment to the Medicare Hospital Wage Index
Focuses on the occupational mix adjustment (OMA) to the labor-related share in the hospital inpatient prospective payment system. Explains what the OMA is, why it is needed, and how it has been calculated. Discusses reasons the effect of the OMA has been less than some rural advocates anticipated.
Author(s): Kristin Reiter, Rebecca Slifkin, Mark Holmes
Date: 09/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Quality and Performance Improvement Grant Activities Under the Flex Program
Describes quality and performance improvement activities proposed by states during the 2005 grant year under the Medicare Rural Health Flexibility Program (Flex Program).
Date: 08/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Medicare Physician Payments: Trends in Service Utilization, Spending, and Fees Prompt Consideration of Alternative Payment Approaches
Statement discussing the sustainable growth rate (SGR) system, which Medicare uses to determine annual changes to physician fees. Includes some rural-specific information.
Additional links: Full Report
Author(s): A. Bruce Steinwald
Date: 07/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health & Human Services Meeting Minutes, Camden, Maine, June 11-13, 2006
Minutes from a meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services covering the following topics: substance abuse, Medicare Advantage, and Head Start in rural areas.
Date: 06/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Increasing the Value of Medicare
Examines issues affecting the Medicare program and makes recommendations to the Congress. Topics covered include care coordination, pricing accuracy in the hospice and physician payment systems, quality measures in home health, gathering data on outpatient therapy, Medicare Advantage, the Part D prescription drug program, and cost-effectiveness analysis.
Date: 06/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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