Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare facilities

Assessing the Financial Effect of Medicare Payment on Rural Hospitals: Does the Source of Data Change the Results?
Describes how predictions of changes in hospital financial performance as a result of change in Medicare payment differ when comparing results using data from the Medicare Cost Report (MCR) to results using data from the audited hospital financial statement.
Author(s): Li-Wu Chen, Susan Puumala, Keith J. Mueller, et al.
Date: 11/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
view details
Rural Hospitals and Spanish Speaking Patients with Limited English Proficiency
Explores how rural hospitals are meeting the needs of patients with Limited English Proficiency (LEP), based on a survey of rural hospitals in counties with large established Latino populations and counties with high growth in Latino population between 1990 and 2000. Describes language services provided. Identifies barriers and strengths for providing these services.
Additional links: Fact Sheet
Author(s): Myriam E. Torres, Deborah Parra-Medina, Amy Brock Martin, et al.
Date: 10/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
view details
Mental Health Encounters in Critical Access Hospital Emergency Rooms: A National Survey
Examines the extent to which Critical Access Hospital (CAH) emergency rooms are used as a mental health safety net. Investigates the types of cases that present with mental health problems, as well as the resources available to emergency room staff in CAHs for addressing such problems.
Additional links: Research and Policy Brief: Smallest Rural Hospitals Treat Mental Health Emergencies
Author(s): David Hartley, Erika Ziller, Stephenie Loux, et al.
Date: 09/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
view details
Revisions to Medicare's Disproportionate Share Payment Policy to Incorporate Bad Debt and Charity Care
Investigates the impact of possible changes to the Medicare disproportionate share (DSH) payment policy, designed to incorporate information on the hospital's uncompensated care burden as well as to improve the payment formula. These analyses are intended to help policymakers evaluate the likely impact of revising the DSH payment methodology.
Author(s): Julie A. Schoenman, Janet P. Sutton, Lan Zhao
Date: 09/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
view details
Status of the Rural Health Clinic Program
Office of Inspector General report discussing the location status of Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). Includes statistics on the number of RHCs in locations that do not have current shortage designations and RHCs in areas no longer considered rural. Includes historical overview of the RHC location requirements and recommendations for improvement.
Date: 08/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
view details
Health Centers: Competition for Grants Has Grown and Efforts to Measure Performance Have Increased
Overview of how Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) grants are awarded and how FQHCs are monitored under the federal Consolidated Health Centers program.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 08/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Health Centers and Rural Clinics: State and Federal Implementation Issues for Medicaid's New Payment System
Reviews states' implementation of the prospective payment system (PPS) for Medicaid payments to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). Includes recommendations for CMS on guidance and oversight for states.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 06/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
MedPAC Report to the Congress: Issues in a Modernized Medicare Program, 2005
Examines issues affecting the Medicare program. Addresses Part D, Medicare's new outpatient prescription drug benefit, with some coverage of rural issues. Includes overview of the Medicare Advantage program. Discusses the effects of the Critical Access Hospital (CAH) provisions in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA).
Date: 06/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Financial Indicators for Critical Access Hospitals
Discusses the development of a set of financial indicators for the Critical Access Hospital (CAH) program. Includes discussion of the potential usefulness of different types of indicators. Also provides indicator medians for CAHs for 1998-2003.
Author(s): George H. Pink, G. Mark Holmes, Cameron D'Alpe, et al.
Date: 05/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
view details
MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2005
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Discussions of rural aspects of Medicare payment policies are included throughout the report. Includes discussion of strategies to improve care, including pay for performance and information technology.
Date: 03/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details