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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare facilities

Key Facts About Hospitals
Presents information and data on hospitals and hospital spending. Covers national hospital spending, the hospital industry, use of hospital care, out-of-pocket spending and medical debt, hospital finances, and more. Includes a section on rural hospitals, which describes the prevalence of rural hospitals, rural hospital characteristics, discharges by payer, profit margins, and openings and closings of rural hospitals.
Author(s): Zachary Levinson, Scott Hulver, Jamie Godwin, Tricia Neuman
Date: 02/2025
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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2025 Stability of the Rural Health Safety Net: State and National Data Tables
Provides links to national and state data tables showing the financial impact of federal policies such as sequestration and bad debt reimbursement on rural hospital revenues, jobs, and gross domestic product. Presented at the February 2025 National Rural Health Association Policy Institute.
Date: 02/2025
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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Chartis Center for Rural Health Research & Resources for the 2025 National Rural Health Association's Rural Health Policy Institute Conference
Offers research and analysis of the stability of the rural healthcare safety net. Includes Instability Continues to Threaten Rural Health Safety Net: Reduced Reimbursements, Dwindling Access to Care, and Deteriorating Population Health Status, and presentation slides on this report from the 2025 National Rural Health Association Policy Institute. Provides links to national and state data tables showing the financial impact of federal policies on rural hospitals.
Date: 02/2025
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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Instability Continues to Threaten Rural Health Safety Net: Reduced Reimbursements, Dwindling Access to Care and Deteriorating Population Health Status
Examines factors contributing to the instability of the rural healthcare safety net, including policy-related reimbursement cuts and changes to payer mixes. Presents data on rural hospitals that have stopped offering obstetrics and chemotherapy services. Explores aspects of rural population health and social drivers of health as they relate to rural healthcare delivery challenges.
Date: 02/2025
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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Medicare Advantage Penetration and the Financial Distress of Rural Hospitals
Examines county-level Medicare Advantage (MA) penetration rates and the financial impact on rural hospitals. Utilizes 2014-2020 American Hospital Association data to analyze Medicare and non-Medicare inpatient days paid by the plans, with data breakdowns according to patient demographics, rural versus urban location, timing of inpatient stay, and more.
Author(s): Guido Cataife, Siying Liu
Citation: Health Economics Review, 15, 9
Date: 02/2025
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The State of Rural Healthcare: Research and Outlook for 2025
Presents results of a survey of 75 rural healthcare regarding their financial health and strategic priorities. Identifies the top challenges identified by the surveyed organizations. Discusses how providers are addressing strategic priorities in 2025, including cybersecurity and the adoption of digital and artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Requires name, email address, and organization information to download.
Date: 02/2025
Sponsoring organization: Wipfli, LLP
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Impact of Rural School-Based Health Centers on Asthma Management
Examines preventive asthma care for rural students who have access to school-based health centers (SBHCs). Analyzes SBHCs in upstate New York and healthcare encounters related to asthma. Discusses disparities in asthma care for rural students who have access to an SBHC versus those who do not.
Author(s): Wendy M. Brunner, Zhuang Han, Sharon Tennyson, et al.
Citation: The Journal of Pediatrics, 277, 114385
Date: 02/2025
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Exploring Access to Critical Health Services for Older Adults in Rural America from 1990 to 2020
Analyzes Area Health Resource Files to evaluate access to healthcare facilities and services between 1990 and 2020 using Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC). Discusses healthcare access disparities between urban and rural areas and the growth of the older adult population in rural communities.
Author(s): Elizabeth A. Bambury, Alexis A. Merdjanoff, Joshua T. Fergen, J. Tom Mueller
Citation: The Journal of Rural Health, 41(1), e70004
Date: 02/2025
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2024-2025 Pre-Rulemaking Measure Review (PRMR): Recommendations Report
Reviews the 41 pre-rulemaking quality measures the Battelle's Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) considered during the 2024-2025 Pre-Rulemaking Measure Review (PRMR) cycle. Discusses measures for clinician, hospital, and post-acute care/long-term care programs. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Date: 02/2025
Sponsoring organization: Partnership for Quality Measurement
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What's Going on in Greater Minnesota? – The Decline in Nursing Bed Capacity
A recorded webinar that discusses the research report, The Declining Capacity of Nursing Facility Care in Rural Minnesota. Focuses on shrinking availability of nursing home beds, workforce shortages, and closure of long-term care facilities.
Author(s): Kelly Asche
Date: 02/2025
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Policy and Development
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