From 2010 through 2014, 47 rural hospitals, ceased providing inpatient services in 23 states across the country (“closed”). Among the 47 closed hospitals, 26 hospitals no longer provide any health care services (“abandoned”), and 21 continue to provide a mix of health services but no inpatient care (“converted”). These closures have affected approximately 800,000 people… Read more »
A Critique of the Office of the Inspector General’s Report on Swing Beds in Critical Access Hospitals
In March 2015, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report on Medicare’s expenditures on swing beds in Critical Access Hospitals (“Medicare Could Have Saved Billions At Critical Access Hospitals If Swing Bed Services Were Reimbursed Using The Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System Rates.” Department of Health and Human Services, Office of… Read more »
Best Practices for Health Insurance Marketplace Outreach and Enrollment in Rural Areas
The Affordable Care Act provided coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace to nearly seven million people during the first open enrollment period. Yet, research suggests that the enrollment rates for eligible individuals living in rural areas was less than enrollment rates for those living in urban areas. That may be due, in part, to specific challenges… Read more »
Geographic Variation in Plan Uptake in the Federally Facilitated Marketplace
On September 18, 2014, the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released data showing that nearly five and a half million individuals had selected an insurance plan in the 36 states where the Federally Facilitated Marketplace was operating. The NC Rural Health Research Program’s Findings Brief: Geographic… Read more »
Rural Hospital Mergers and Acquisitions: Who Is Being Acquired and What Happens Afterward?
Hospital mergers and acquisitions are changing the face of health care in both rural and urban communities across the country. Declining reimbursement levels, increased capital needs, a weak economy and easier access to credit have all contributed to a level of mergers not seen in more than a decade. The NC Rural Health Research Program’s Findings Brief: Rural… Read more »
How Does Medicaid Expansion Affect Insurance Coverage of Rural Populations?
The NC Rural Health Research Program’s Findings Brief: How Does Medicaid Expansion Affect Insurance Coverage of Rural Populations? examines how states’ decisions on Medicaid expansion are impacting rural areas in the U.S., we used population estimates, current status of state expansion, and state-level insurance estimates to answer two primary questions: 1) How is Medicaid expansion… Read more »
Discharge to Swing Bed or Skilled Nursing Facility: Who Goes Where?
The NC Rural Health Research Program’s Findings Brief, Discharge to Swing Bed or Skilled Nursing Facility: Who Goes Where, examines health conditions of patients discharged from rural Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to swing beds and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Patients discharged to facility-based, post-acute care from CAHs are sent… Read more »
Rural and Urban Differences in Inpatient Related Costs and Use among Medicare Beneficiaries
This recent Findings Brief from the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program finds that Medicare beneficiaries who are admitted to rural hospitals tend to have lower outpatient costs than Medicare beneficiaries admitted to urban hospitals. These differences are due to multiple factors, some of which were adjusted in the comparisons included in the Brief. The… Read more »
Change in Profitability and Financial Distress of Critical Access Hospitals from Loss of Cost-Based Reimbursement
The North Carolina Rural Health Research Program released their Findings Brief, . It looks at how changes to Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) reimbursement – notably a reversion to prospective payment – would have marked negative effects on CAH profitability and financial health. Roughly three quarters of CAHs would operate at a loss. The number of CAHs… Read more »
Geographic Variation in the Profitability of Critical Access Hospitals
The NC Rural Health Research Program’s Findings Brief, Geographic Variation in the Profitability of Critical Access Hospitals, examines how the profitability of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) varies greatly across states and U.S. Census divisions. The decertification of CAHs and the loss of cost-based reimbursement are likely to reduce hospital profitability, with some states and regions… Read more »
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