Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Medicare

Rural/Urban and Regional Variation in the 2019 CMS Hospital Wage Index
Findings brief describing the geographic variation in the 2019 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) hospital wage index by rural and urban definitions. Includes data comparisons for rural and urban definitions by Census region, frontier and remote (FAR) codes, and state.
Author(s): Kristie W. Thompson, Ann Howard, George H. Pink
Date: 05/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
view details
Medicare Physician Payment Reform After Two Years: Examining MACRA Implementation and the Road Ahead
Provides a recording of a U.S. Senate Committee on Finance hearing on physician payment reforms under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). Features testimonies about what is working well and challenges faced, including provisions and challenges for small and rural practices. Contains testimonies from the American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Surgeons, American Medical Group Association, and Brookings Institution.
Additional links: American Medical Association Testimony, John Cullen Testimony, Scott Hines Testimony
Date: 05/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Finance
view details
2019 Wage Index Diļ¬€erences and Selected Characteristics of Rural and Urban Hospitals
Findings brief describing and comparing rural and urban hospitals by Medicare payment classification, amount of patient revenue, and number of beds. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban and rural locations.
Author(s): George H. Pink, Kristie W. Thompson, H. Ann Howard
Date: 05/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
view details
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation 2018 Report to Congress
Reports to Congress on payment and service delivery models and initiatives tested or announced by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation between October 2016 and 2018. Addresses Accountable Care Organization (ACO) models, population-based payment models, bundled payment models, and models that integrated Medicaid and Medicare beneficiary care. Identifies model adaptations for rural health organizations, such as the ACO Investment model, and includes a section on the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model.
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details
Independent Evaluation of Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+): First Annual Report
Provides an overview of first-year findings for CPC+, including who participated, the supports practices received, how practices implemented CPC+, and the impacts on cost, service use, and outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries. Features statistics with breakdowns by rural, suburban, or urban location.
Additional links: Appendices to the Supplemental Volume, Findings at a Glance, Supplemental Volume
Author(s): Deborah Peikes, Grace Anglin, Mary Harrington, et al.
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mathematica Policy Research
view details
Primary Care Clinician Participation in the CMS Quality Payment Program
Analyzes primary care clinician participation in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Payment Program (QPP). Provides data by provider type, specialty, practice location for metro and nonmetro areas, and Advanced Alternative Payment Model (A-APM) or Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) program participation.
Author(s): A. Clinton MacKinney, Fred Ullrich, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
view details
Medicare Advantage Enrollment Update 2018
Reports on the percentage of rural Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) and other prepaid enrollment plans by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan location, and variability by state.
Author(s): Onyinye Oyeka, Fred Ullrich, Keith Mueller
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
view details
Transitions in Care and Service Use among Medicare Beneficiaries in Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities
Examines characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries who use inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPF) to help reduce preventable admissions and readmissions and create quality of care measures. Addresses the types of care patients receive before, during, and after their stay at an IPF. Includes a chart identifying the number of freestanding and psychiatric unit IPFs in rural and mental health shortage areas.
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
view details
Integrating Care through Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs): Opportunities and Challenges
Examines state and federal policy options for increasing alignment and integration of people eligible for Medicare and Medicaid through Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs). Reviews the literature on the topic, provides case studies from 5 states, reports on a meeting with officials from states working on D-SNPs, and addresses challenges for offering D-SNPs in rural areas.
Author(s): Nancy Archibald, Michelle Soper, Leah Smith, Alexandra Kruse, Joshua Wiener
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
view details
Patterns of Care and Home Health Utilization for Community-Admitted Medicare Patients
Focuses on differences between community-admitted and post-acute care Medicare home health patients over time in order to identify reasons for the increase in community-admitted patients. Addresses differences in rural/urban residency in Tables B.1. and E.1., as well as whether the county of residence is a primary care shortage area.
Author(s): Andrea Wysocki, Valerie Cheh
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
view details