Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Medicare
Medicare Physician Payments: Trends in Service Utilization, Spending, and Fees Prompt Consideration of Alternative Payment Approaches
Statement discussing the sustainable growth rate (SGR) system, which Medicare uses to determine annual changes to physician fees. Includes some rural-specific information.
Additional links: Full Report
Author(s): A. Bruce Steinwald
Date: 07/2006
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Statement discussing the sustainable growth rate (SGR) system, which Medicare uses to determine annual changes to physician fees. Includes some rural-specific information.
Additional links: Full Report
Author(s): A. Bruce Steinwald
Date: 07/2006
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
MedPAC Report to the Congress: Increasing the Value of Medicare
Examines issues affecting the Medicare program and makes recommendations to the Congress. Topics covered include care coordination, pricing accuracy in the hospice and physician payment systems, quality measures in home health, gathering data on outpatient therapy, Medicare Advantage, the Part D prescription drug program, and cost-effectiveness analysis.
Date: 06/2006
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Examines issues affecting the Medicare program and makes recommendations to the Congress. Topics covered include care coordination, pricing accuracy in the hospice and physician payment systems, quality measures in home health, gathering data on outpatient therapy, Medicare Advantage, the Part D prescription drug program, and cost-effectiveness analysis.
Date: 06/2006
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2006
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Discussions of rural aspects of Medicare payment policies are included throughout the report.
Date: 03/2006
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Discussions of rural aspects of Medicare payment policies are included throughout the report.
Date: 03/2006
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Hospital Quality Data: CMS Needs More Rigorous Methods to Ensure Reliability of Publicly Released Data
Describes how the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) collects hospital quality measures and ways the process could be improved to better ensure the accuracy of the data. Discusses how rural and urban hospital accuracy scores compare.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 02/2006
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Describes how the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) collects hospital quality measures and ways the process could be improved to better ensure the accuracy of the data. Discusses how rural and urban hospital accuracy scores compare.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 02/2006
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Trends in Skilled Nursing and Swing-bed Use in Rural Areas, 1996-2003
Examines trends in the delivery of skilled nursing facility (SNF) services in rural areas during a period of dramatic change in Medicare payments. Focuses on the role of rural hospitals in providing SNF services, as a number of regulatory changes occurred between 1998 and 2002 that could potentially influence hospital provision of skilled nursing care.
Author(s): Kathleen Dalton, Jeongyoung Park, Ann Howard, Rebecca Slifkin
Date: 12/2005
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
view details
Examines trends in the delivery of skilled nursing facility (SNF) services in rural areas during a period of dramatic change in Medicare payments. Focuses on the role of rural hospitals in providing SNF services, as a number of regulatory changes occurred between 1998 and 2002 that could potentially influence hospital provision of skilled nursing care.
Author(s): Kathleen Dalton, Jeongyoung Park, Ann Howard, Rebecca Slifkin
Date: 12/2005
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
view details
Revisions to Medicare's Disproportionate Share Payment Policy to Incorporate Bad Debt and Charity Care
Investigates the impact of possible changes to the Medicare disproportionate share (DSH) payment policy, designed to incorporate information on the hospital's uncompensated care burden as well as to improve the payment formula. These analyses are intended to help policymakers evaluate the likely impact of revising the DSH payment methodology.
Author(s): Julie A. Schoenman, Janet P. Sutton, Lan Zhao
Date: 09/2005
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
view details
Investigates the impact of possible changes to the Medicare disproportionate share (DSH) payment policy, designed to incorporate information on the hospital's uncompensated care burden as well as to improve the payment formula. These analyses are intended to help policymakers evaluate the likely impact of revising the DSH payment methodology.
Author(s): Julie A. Schoenman, Janet P. Sutton, Lan Zhao
Date: 09/2005
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
view details
Utilization of Home Health Services Among Rural Medicare Beneficiaries Before and After the PPS: Final Report
Describes the results of a study on the rural effects of the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS), including whether the PPS contributed to changes in the demographic and clinical characteristics of home care users; the likelihood of using each of six home care disciplines; and the intensity of services.
Author(s): Janet P. Sutton
Date: 08/2005
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
view details
Describes the results of a study on the rural effects of the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS), including whether the PPS contributed to changes in the demographic and clinical characteristics of home care users; the likelihood of using each of six home care disciplines; and the intensity of services.
Author(s): Janet P. Sutton
Date: 08/2005
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
view details
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
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
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
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
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
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
view details
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
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
view details
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
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
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
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details