Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Medicare
Indiana Medicaid and Medicare Telehealth Reimbursement for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and Rural Health Clinics (RHC)
Provides an overview of Medicaid and Medicare telehealth reimbursement policies for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) in Indiana in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: Upper Midwest Telehealth Resource Center
view details
Provides an overview of Medicaid and Medicare telehealth reimbursement policies for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) in Indiana in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: Upper Midwest Telehealth Resource Center
view details
MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Home Health Prospective Payment System for CY 2021
Comments on a June 30, 2020, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for home health agencies. Includes comments addressing the use of technology under the Medicare home health benefit and changes to geographic area delineations.
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Comments on a June 30, 2020, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for home health agencies. Includes comments addressing the use of technology under the Medicare home health benefit and changes to geographic area delineations.
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Living at Home in Rural America: Improving Accessibility for Older Adults and People with a Disability
Information on current federal resources, programs, and initiatives intended to improve home safety and accessibility for rural older adults and people with disabilities. Supports the Rural Health Strategy, launched by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2018 to improve health care in rural America by leveraging partnerships on the federal, regional, state, and local levels.
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organizations: Administration for Community Living, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
view details
Information on current federal resources, programs, and initiatives intended to improve home safety and accessibility for rural older adults and people with disabilities. Supports the Rural Health Strategy, launched by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2018 to improve health care in rural America by leveraging partnerships on the federal, regional, state, and local levels.
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organizations: Administration for Community Living, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
view details
Medicare Advantage Versus the Traditional Medicare Program: Costs of Inpatient Stays, 2009–2017
Examines the costs of hospital inpatient stays among patients 65 years of age and older with a primary expected payer of Medicare Advantage compared to traditional Medicare, based on data from 18 states. Includes data by location of patient residence for rural, micropolitan, small metropolitan, and large metropolitan areas.
Author(s): Brian J. Moore, Lan Liang
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
view details
Examines the costs of hospital inpatient stays among patients 65 years of age and older with a primary expected payer of Medicare Advantage compared to traditional Medicare, based on data from 18 states. Includes data by location of patient residence for rural, micropolitan, small metropolitan, and large metropolitan areas.
Author(s): Brian J. Moore, Lan Liang
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
view details
Medicare's Mental Health Coverage: How COVID-19 Highlights Gaps and Opportunities for Improvement
Report explores Medicare beneficiaries' access to mental healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. Breaks down data by beneficiary type, severity of illness, and rural versus urban location, among other measures. Highlights barriers to care and makes recommendations for the future.
Author(s): Beth McGinty
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
view details
Report explores Medicare beneficiaries' access to mental healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. Breaks down data by beneficiary type, severity of illness, and rural versus urban location, among other measures. Highlights barriers to care and makes recommendations for the future.
Author(s): Beth McGinty
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
view details
Medicare Beneficiary Use of Telehealth Visits: Early Data from the Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Examines changes in Medicare in-person primary care visits and the use of telehealth services at the start of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Discusses how Medicare telehealth flexibilities implemented in response to COVID-19 impacted access to these services. Compares the percentage of primary care telehealth visits between rural and urban providers. Includes a county-level map displaying the percentage of primary care visits conducted via telehealth services in April 2020.
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
view details
Examines changes in Medicare in-person primary care visits and the use of telehealth services at the start of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Discusses how Medicare telehealth flexibilities implemented in response to COVID-19 impacted access to these services. Compares the percentage of primary care telehealth visits between rural and urban providers. Includes a county-level map displaying the percentage of primary care visits conducted via telehealth services in April 2020.
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
view details
Independent Evaluation of Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+): Second Annual Report
Reports on the first two program years of the CPC+, a CMS primary care payment and delivery reform effort. Discusses CPC+ participating practices, payer partners, and health information technology (HIT) vendors supporting the program. Describes practices changes and outcomes for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. Includes statistics with breakdowns by rural, suburban, or urban practice location.
Additional links: Appendices to the Supplemental Volume, CMS Perspective Report, Findings at a Glance, Supplemental Volume
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mathematica
view details
Reports on the first two program years of the CPC+, a CMS primary care payment and delivery reform effort. Discusses CPC+ participating practices, payer partners, and health information technology (HIT) vendors supporting the program. Describes practices changes and outcomes for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. Includes statistics with breakdowns by rural, suburban, or urban practice location.
Additional links: Appendices to the Supplemental Volume, CMS Perspective Report, Findings at a Glance, Supplemental Volume
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mathematica
view details
MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Hospital Inpatient PPS and the Long-term Care Hospital PPS for FY 2021
Comments on a May 29, 2020, Federal Register proposed rule revising the hospital inpatient and long-term care hospital (LTCH) prospective payment systems. Discusses proposals to use commercial insurer data to set Medicare severity–diagnosis related group (MS–DRG) relative weights and adopt changes to geographic area delineations to establish hospital wage indexes for the IPPS and LTCH PPS.
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Comments on a May 29, 2020, Federal Register proposed rule revising the hospital inpatient and long-term care hospital (LTCH) prospective payment systems. Discusses proposals to use commercial insurer data to set Medicare severity–diagnosis related group (MS–DRG) relative weights and adopt changes to geographic area delineations to establish hospital wage indexes for the IPPS and LTCH PPS.
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
The Impact of Medicare's Rural Add-on Payments on Supply of Home Health Agencies Serving Rural Counties
Examines how Medicare rural add-on payments affected the number of home health agencies serving rural counties between 2002-2017. Compares the population-adjusted number of home health agencies in urban, urban-adjacent non-urban-adjacent rural counties during periods with add-on payments and without add-on payments. Discusses implications for revised and future add-on payments to maintain or increase the supply of rural home health agencies.
Author(s): Tracy M. Mroz, Davis G. Patterson, Bianca K. Frogner
Citation: Health Affairs, 39(6), 949-957
Date: 06/2020
view details
Examines how Medicare rural add-on payments affected the number of home health agencies serving rural counties between 2002-2017. Compares the population-adjusted number of home health agencies in urban, urban-adjacent non-urban-adjacent rural counties during periods with add-on payments and without add-on payments. Discusses implications for revised and future add-on payments to maintain or increase the supply of rural home health agencies.
Author(s): Tracy M. Mroz, Davis G. Patterson, Bianca K. Frogner
Citation: Health Affairs, 39(6), 949-957
Date: 06/2020
view details
Out‐of‐Network Air Ambulance Bills: Prevalence, Magnitude, and Policy Solutions
Examines the prevalence and cost of surprise air ambulance bills among privately insured patients. Describes air ambulance rates for commercial payers in relation to Medicare rates. Compares the number of air ambulance claims from urban and rural locations. Offers policy solutions to address surprise and out-of-network bills for these services.
Author(s): Erin C. Fuse Brown, Erin Trish, Bich Ly, Mark Hall, Loren Adler
Citation: Milbank Quarterly, 98(3), 747-774
Date: 06/2020
view details
Examines the prevalence and cost of surprise air ambulance bills among privately insured patients. Describes air ambulance rates for commercial payers in relation to Medicare rates. Compares the number of air ambulance claims from urban and rural locations. Offers policy solutions to address surprise and out-of-network bills for these services.
Author(s): Erin C. Fuse Brown, Erin Trish, Bich Ly, Mark Hall, Loren Adler
Citation: Milbank Quarterly, 98(3), 747-774
Date: 06/2020
view details