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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Medicare

MedPAC Report to the Congress: Issues in a Modernized Medicare Program, 2005
Examines issues affecting the Medicare program. Addresses Part D, Medicare's new outpatient prescription drug benefit, with some coverage of rural issues. Includes overview of the Medicare Advantage program. Discusses the effects of the Critical Access Hospital (CAH) provisions in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA).
Date: 06/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Patterns Of Post-Acute Utilization In Rural and Urban Communities: Home Health, Skilled Nursing, and Inpatient Medical Rehabilitation
Describes rural Medicare beneficiaries' patterns of post-acute utilization of home health services, skilled nursing facilities, and inpatient rehabilitation facilities. Provides baseline data that policymakers, researchers, and others who are interested in rural healthcare issues may use to monitor how changes in Medicare policies affect access to post-acute care in rural areas.
Author(s): Janet P. Sutton
Date: 03/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health & Human Services Meeting Minutes, Washington DC, March 20-22, 2005
Minutes from a National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services meeting addressing the following topics: health information technology, Medicare and access to pharmaceutical services, and support for rural caregivers.
Date: 03/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2005
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Discussions of rural aspects of Medicare payment policies are included throughout the report. Includes discussion of strategies to improve care, including pay for performance and information technology.
Date: 03/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Home Health Payment Reform: Trends in the Supply of Rural Agencies and Availability of Home-Based Skilled Services
Reports on changes in the supply of home health agencies in rural and urban areas before and after the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997, which changed reimbursement for home health. Also looks at provision of physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and medical social work by rural and urban home health agencies.
Author(s): Janet P. Sutton
Date: 03/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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Medicare Physician Fees: Geographic Adjustment Indices Are Valid in Design, but Data and Methods Need Refinement
Discusses Medicare's geographic practice cost indices (GPCI). Includes discussion of how these indices impact rural physicians, physician incomes, location, recruitment, and retention.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 03/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Impacts of the Medicare Modernization Act on Rural Health Systems and Beneficiaries
Offers an analysis of rural-pertinent provisions of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. Summarizes legislative and regulatory provisions of special significance to rural beneficiaries and health care systems.
Author(s): Keith Mueller, Andrew Coburn, Charles Fluharty, et al.
Date: 02/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Medicare Fee-for-Service Beneficiary Access to Physician Services: Trends in Utilization of Services, 2000-2002
Reports on Medicare beneficiaries' access to physician services in 2000, 2001, and 2002, with comparison of rural versus urban access.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 02/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Medicare Hospice Care: Modifications to Payment Methodology May Be Warranted
Discusses proposed adjustments to Medicare payments for hospice services. Includes some information on rural aspects of hospice and Medicare reimbursement.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2004
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Medicare: Information Needed to Assess Adequacy of Rate-Setting Methodology for Payments for Hospital Outpatient Services
Examines whether the outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) rate-setting methodology results in payment rates that uniformly reflect hospitals' costs for providing drugs and devices. Includes information specific to rural hospitals and the OPPS.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2004
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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