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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health & Human Services Meeting Minutes, Camden, Maine, June 11-13, 2006
Minutes from a meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services covering the following topics: substance abuse, Medicare Advantage, and Head Start in rural areas.
Date: 06/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Minutes from a meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services covering the following topics: substance abuse, Medicare Advantage, and Head Start in rural areas.
Date: 06/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health & Human Services Meeting Minutes, Washington, DC, January 29-31, 2006
Minutes from a meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services covering the following topics: substance abuse, Medicare Advantage, and Head Start in rural areas.
Date: 01/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Minutes from a meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services covering the following topics: substance abuse, Medicare Advantage, and Head Start in rural areas.
Date: 01/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Assessing the Financial Effect of Medicare Payment on Rural Hospitals: Does the Source of Data Change the Results?
Describes how predictions of changes in hospital financial performance as a result of change in Medicare payment differ when comparing results using data from the Medicare Cost Report (MCR) to results using data from the audited hospital financial statement.
Author(s): Li-Wu Chen, Susan Puumala, Keith J. Mueller, et al.
Date: 11/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Describes how predictions of changes in hospital financial performance as a result of change in Medicare payment differ when comparing results using data from the Medicare Cost Report (MCR) to results using data from the audited hospital financial statement.
Author(s): Li-Wu Chen, Susan Puumala, Keith J. Mueller, et al.
Date: 11/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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