Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Medicare

MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2020
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: 03/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Rural Libraries Help Communities Access Health Information
Features rural libraries in South Carolina, Vermont, and Washington that support population health in their communities by providing monthly programs and teaching patrons and staff how to access reliable health information online.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 03/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Medicare: Information on Medicare-Dependent Hospitals
Provides an overview of the Medicare-dependent hospital (MDH) program, how the MDH designation differs from other rural hospital designations, and how MDH hospitals have changed over time. Discusses the decrease in the number of MDHs over time. Examines a variety of operational and financial metrics across MDHs over time.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 02/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Variation in Use of Home Health Care among Fee-for-Service Medicare Beneficiaries by Rural-Urban Status and Geographic Region: Assessing the Potential for Unmet Need
County-level analysis of home health care use by Medicare beneficiaries in 2013. Explores characteristics of beneficiaries and their communities. Features statistics with breakdowns by geographic region and 5 levels of population density.
Author(s): Tracy M. Mroz, Lisa A. Garberson, Jennifer L. Wong, et al.
Date: 02/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
January 2020 MACPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission's (MACPAC) January 2020 meeting. Covers Medicaid role in maternity care with a focus on pregnant women with substance use disorder and infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome, integrating care for dually eligible beneficiaries, maternal morbidity among women in Medicaid, and improving participation in the Medicare Savings Programs, among other things.
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
view details
January 2020 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) January 2020 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: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Health Care Use and Access among Rural and Urban Nonelderly Adult Medicare Beneficiaries
Highlights healthcare access and utilization by disabled adults under 65 who are enrolled in Medicare. Compares rural and urban participants by age, race, and geographic region, among other measures.
Author(s): Erika Ziller, Amanda Burgess, Deborah Thayer
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
view details
Second Evaluation Report: Next Generation Accountable Care Organization Model Evaluation
Reports on the impact of the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization model in 2016 and 2017, with information on the full sample of 46 participating NGACOs. Provides information on the models' impact on gross and net Medicare spending. The appendices include data on community characteristics, including rurality.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance, Technical Appendices
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NORC at the University of Chicago
view details
Report to Congress: Demonstration Project on Community Health Integration Models in Certain Rural Counties - Final Report
Presents findings from the Frontier Community Health Integration Project Demonstration (FCHIP) over the 3-year project period. Shares results for the 10 participating Critical Access Hospitals in three states: North Dakota, Montana, and Nevada. The demonstration focused on interventions addressing ambulance services, skilled nursing facility/nursing facility beds, and telehealth. Offers recommendations for legislative and administrative action.
Date: 2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
view details
Rural-Urban Differences in Hospital Payer Mix in 2017
Fact sheet reporting payer mix, which refers to the percentage of inpatient days paid by Medicare and Medicaid, by hospital location and Critical Access Hospital (CAH) status. Highlights key observations on data drawn from the 2017 American Hospital Association annual survey.
Date: 2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
view details