Trends in Supply and Utilization of Rural Hospitals with Special Medicare Payments
Abstract
The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) contracted with RAND to perform an analysis of Medicare spending for special payments to rural providers and their implications for access and costs of care for rural Medicare beneficiaries. Our goal was to provide a comprehensive overview of utilization and spending for these services over the last decade. Information from these trend analyses will guide our examination of future Medicare rural payment policy options. The special payment provisions examined include (I) bonus payments to physicians in rural HPSAs; (2) reimbursements to rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers; (3) special payments for sole community hospitals, Medicare-dependent hospitals, rural referral centers, EACH/RPCH hospital networks, and Medical Assistance Facilities; and (4) capitation payments in rural counties, especially in underserved areas. This report presents the preliminary findings from our analysis of rural hospitals and inpatient utilization by rural Medicare beneficiaries. We examined the numbers and distributions of rural hospitals, looking specifically at hospitals that qualify for Medicare special payments. We also considered trends in inpatient utilization and spending for rural hospital services.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA387839
Entities
People
- Donna O. Farley
- Feng Zeng
- J. S. Ashwood
- Lisa R. Shugarman
- Pat Taylor
Organizations
- RAND Corporation