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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Home health

MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2022
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses payment adequacy for healthcare facilities and services, improving Medicare payment for post-acute care, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, and the impact of healthcare provider consolidation.
Date: 03/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Quality of Home Health Agencies Serving Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
Describes a study examining the quality of home health agencies (HHAs) that serve rural beneficiaries, based on ratings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services star rating system. Features statistics including characteristics of HHAs, patient care ratings, and patient experience ratings in 2018 by rural-serving status.
Date: 02/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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January 2022 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) January 2022 meeting. Covers payment adequacy and updates for hospital inpatient and outpatient services, physician and other health professional services, outpatient dialysis services and improving the ESRD payment system, skilled nursing facility services, home health agency services, long-term care hospital services, inpatient rehabilitation facility services, hospice services, and ambulatory surgical center services. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Barriers to Aging in Place in Rural Communities: Perspectives from State Offices of Rural Health
Summarizes findings from a survey of State Offices of Rural Health (SORHs) describing barriers for older adults in successfully aging in place in rural communities, including transportation, access to care, workforce issues, and cost of care. Presents respondents' policy and programmatic recommendations that would be beneficial for supporting older adults aging in place in rural areas.
Author(s): Megan Lahr, Carrie Henning-Smith
Date: 11/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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The Impact of COVID-19 on People with Disabilities
Examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with disabilities. Covers access to healthcare and direct care workers, congregate care settings and transition, education, employment, effective communication, and mental health and suicide prevention services. Identifies challenges to rural residents throughout, including access to broadband in rural areas. Offers policy recommendations to federal and state policymakers and other relevant stakeholders.
Date: 10/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Council on Disability
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Availability of Post-Acute Care and Long-Term Care Services in Rural Areas
September 14, 2021 webinar discussing the availability of post-acute care and long-term services in rural areas. Shares information on nursing home closures, nursing home deserts, and data describing nursing homes characteristics by metro and nonmetro location. Includes an analysis of hospitals with swing beds that provide coverage for post-acute care and long-term services in rural areas and home health services in rural areas without nursing homes.
Additional links: Presentation Slides, Transcript
Author(s): Hari Sharma
Date: 09/2021
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Research Gateway
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Community Health Centers Telehealth Promising Practices: Case Studies from the COVID-19 Pandemic
Offers a series of eight case studies on how community health centers developed or expanded telehealth programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses challenges faced, best practices, and lessons learned for each program.
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Community Health Centers
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Post-Acute Care Trajectories for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries: Planned versus Actual Hospital Discharges to Skilled Nursing Facilities and Home Health Agencies
Examines care transitions among rural fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries following discharge from an acute care hospital. Compares planned and actual discharges to home health agencies and skilled nursing facilities. Discusses implications of these findings on rural healthcare policy and practice.
Author(s): Tracy M. Mroz, Lisa A. Garberson, C. Holly A. Andrilla, et al.
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2021
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses payment adequacy for healthcare facilities and services, improving Medicare payment for post-acute care, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, and the impact of healthcare provider consolidation. Contains information on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Medicare beneficiary healthcare access, mortality, and service use. Presents an option for Medicare's coverage of telehealth beyond the public health emergency.
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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January 2021 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) January 2021 meeting. Features a discussion on the expansion of telehealth in Medicare. Also covers payment adequacy and updates for hospital inpatient and outpatient services and the mandated report expanding the post-acute care transfer policy to hospice, physician and other health professional services, ambulatory surgical center services, outpatient dialysis services, hospice services, skilled nursing facility services, home health agency services, inpatient rehabilitation facility services, long-term care hospital services, and CMMI's development and implementation of alternative payment models.
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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