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
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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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
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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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
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Finance
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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
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Finance
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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
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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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
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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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
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mathematica Policy Research
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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
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mathematica Policy Research
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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
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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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
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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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
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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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
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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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
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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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
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Is Duration of Hospital Participation in Meaningful Use Associated with Value in Medicare?
Analyzes hospital participation in Medicare's meaningful use (MU) of electronic health records (EHRs) to determine the extent of their use of value-based initiatives in order to evaluate whether the duration of participation was linked with lower Medicare inpatient spending and lower readmission rates. Data was extracted from CMS sources including the Hospital Compare Website. Hospital-level data for analysis included inpatient spending, accreditation status, hospital location (urban/rural), ownership status, and hospital size.
Author(s): Yanick N. Brice, Karen E. Joynt Maddox
Citation: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA) Open, 2(2), 238-245
Date: 03/2019
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Analyzes hospital participation in Medicare's meaningful use (MU) of electronic health records (EHRs) to determine the extent of their use of value-based initiatives in order to evaluate whether the duration of participation was linked with lower Medicare inpatient spending and lower readmission rates. Data was extracted from CMS sources including the Hospital Compare Website. Hospital-level data for analysis included inpatient spending, accreditation status, hospital location (urban/rural), ownership status, and hospital size.
Author(s): Yanick N. Brice, Karen E. Joynt Maddox
Citation: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA) Open, 2(2), 238-245
Date: 03/2019
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Addressing Low Case-Volume in Healthcare Performance Measurement of Rural Providers: Recommendations from the MAP Rural Health Technical Expert Panel
Final report recommending how to measure healthcare performance in low case-volume situations, such as rural providers. Reviews existing and proposed low-volume healthcare quality measures, how measures are calculated, data use, and data analysis techniques. Focuses on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) quality programs reporting requirements.
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organizations: MAP Rural Health Workgroup, National Quality Forum
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Final report recommending how to measure healthcare performance in low case-volume situations, such as rural providers. Reviews existing and proposed low-volume healthcare quality measures, how measures are calculated, data use, and data analysis techniques. Focuses on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) quality programs reporting requirements.
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organizations: MAP Rural Health Workgroup, National Quality Forum
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Facility-Based Ambulatory Care Provided to Rural Medicare Beneficiaries in 2014
Chartbook describing claims, costs, and common diagnoses in facility-based ambulatory care provided to rural Medicare patients. Features statistics in various categories with breakdowns by Federally Qualified Health Centers in rural and urban areas, Rural Health Clinics, Critical Access Hospitals, and Prospective Payment Systems in rural and urban areas.
Author(s): Alex R. Schulte, Denise A. Kirk, Kristie W. Thompson, George H. Pink
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Chartbook describing claims, costs, and common diagnoses in facility-based ambulatory care provided to rural Medicare patients. Features statistics in various categories with breakdowns by Federally Qualified Health Centers in rural and urban areas, Rural Health Clinics, Critical Access Hospitals, and Prospective Payment Systems in rural and urban areas.
Author(s): Alex R. Schulte, Denise A. Kirk, Kristie W. Thompson, George H. Pink
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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