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Resources by Topic: Policy

October 2023 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) October 2023 meeting. Covers updates to Medicare payment rates for clinician services, staffing ratios and turnover rates in nursing facilities, an alternative method to establish Medicare payments for select conditions treated in inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and a work plan relating to generic drug prices under Medicare Part D. Includes rural references and considerations throughout. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Telehealth Use and Availability in VHA Outpatient Mental Health Care
Report discusses the use and availability of telehealth for outpatient mental healthcare within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Explores telehealth use and availability in rural areas, highlights barriers to both, and discusses how the VHA can adapt.
Author(s): PhiYen Nguyen, Izabela Sadej, Elsa Pearson Sites, et al.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Partnered Evidence-based Policy Resource Center (PEPReC), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
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Tax-Exempt Hospitals Provided Nearly $130 Billion in Total Benefits to Their Communities: Results from 2020 Tax-Exempt Hospitals' Schedule H Community Benefit Reports
Summarizes the benefits nonprofit hospitals provide their communities based on an analysis of IRS Form 990 Schedule H. Addresses the percent spent on financial assistance, health professions education, community building activities, and other categories included on Schedule H. Includes data for rural and Critical Access Hospitals.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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MedPAC Payment Basics
Series of briefs providing an of Medicare payment systems. Covers payments systems including Accountable Care Organizations (ACO), Critical Access Hospitals (CAH), Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics, hospital acute inpatient services, and more.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Federally Qualified Health Center and Rural Health Clinic Payment Systems
Presents an overview of Medicare payments for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). Details how the all-inclusive rate (AIR) is calculated for RHCs and how the national statutory payment limit applies to provider-based RHCs enrolled in Medicare before December 31, 2020, and whether they part of a hospital with fewer than 50 beds. Includes information on special payment rules for certain services provided by FQHCs and RHCs.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Skilled Nursing Facility Services Payment System
Overview of Medicare payments for skilled nursing and rehabilitation services. Describes what constitutes a skilled nursing facility and how small, rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) may be used to provide these services with CMS approval. Compares Medicare daily base rates for urban and rural skilled nursing facilities.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Physician and Other Health Professional Payment System
Overview of Medicare payments for physician services conducted in a variety of settings including physicians' offices, hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, skilled nursing facilities and other post-acute care settings, hospices, outpatient dialysis facilities, clinical laboratories, and beneficiaries' homes.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Part D Payment System
Overview of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, including subsidy amounts, payments to plans, how enrollee premiums are calculated, and benefit and payment updates.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Outpatient Hospital Services Payment System
Outlines Medicare's payments for outpatient hospital services, including considerations for rural sole community hospitals.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Payment Basics: Outpatient Dialysis Services Payment System
Overview of Medicare payment methods for outpatient dialysis services of beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Describes the base payment rate for freestanding and hospital-based facilities and identifies facility-level adjustments, including facilities located in rural areas.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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