National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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- Access to Care (3)
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 8 of 8 Research Studies DisplayedHenke RM, Fingar KR, Liang L
AHRQ Author: Liang L, Jiang HJ
Medicare Advantage in rural areas: implications for hospital sustainability.
This study examined the association between Medicare Advantage penetration levels in rural areas and hospital financial distress and closure. This retrospective study followed rural general acute hospitals open from 2008-2019 or until closure using HCUP State Inpatient Databases for 14 states. Medicare Advantage penetration at rural hospitals grew from 6.5% in 2008 to 20.6% in 2019. A 1-percentage point increase in hospital penetration was associated with an increase in financial stability of 0.04 units on the Altman Z score and a 4% reduction in risk of closure (HR, 0.96).
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 290201800005C.
Citation: Henke RM, Fingar KR, Liang L .
Medicare Advantage in rural areas: implications for hospital sustainability.
Am J Manag Care 2023 Nov; 29(11):594-600. doi: 10.37765/ajmc.2023.89455..
Keywords: Medicare, Rural Health, Rural/Inner-City Residents, Hospitals
Friedman HR, Holmes GM
Rural Medicare beneficiaries are increasingly likely to be admitted to urban hospitals.
This study looked at trends in admission to urban hospitals by rural Medicare FFS beneficiaries from 2010 to 2018. The authors combined data from the 2010 to 2018 Hospital Service Area File (HSAF) and the 2010-2017 American Hospital Association (AHA) survey. They found that controlling for distance to the nearest hospitals, an increase of 1 year was associated with a 2.0% increase in the number of admissions to urban hospitals from each rural ZIP code. New system affiliation of the nearest rural hospital was associated with an increase of 1.7%.
AHRQ-funded; HS000032.
Citation: Friedman HR, Holmes GM .
Rural Medicare beneficiaries are increasingly likely to be admitted to urban hospitals.
Health Serv Res 2022 Oct;57(5):1029-34. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.14017..
Keywords: Medicare, Rural Health, Hospitals, Access to Care
Fraze TK, Lewis VA, Wood A
Configuration and delivery of primary care in rural and urban settings.
This study examined configuration and delivery of rural primary care of Medicare beneficiaries compared to more urban settings. The study included over 27 million participants with qualifying visits who were assigned to practices. The authors characterized practices’ structures, capabilities, and payment reform participation and measured beneficiary utilization by rurality. Rural practices were smaller, more primary care dominant and system owned with more beneficiaries per practice. Rural area beneficiaries were more likely to be from high-poverty areas and disabled. There was less engagement in quality-focused payment programs than in metropolitan practices. There was less preventive care, such as fewer beneficiaries with diabetes receiving an eye exam, fewer mammograms, and higher overall and condition-specific readmissions. While most isolated beneficiaries traveled to more urban practices for outpatient care, those receiving care in rural practices had similar outpatient and inpatient utilization to urban counterparts except for readmissions and quality metrics that rely on services outside of primary care.
AHRQ-funded; HS024075.
Citation: Fraze TK, Lewis VA, Wood A .
Configuration and delivery of primary care in rural and urban settings.
J Gen Intern Med 2022 Sep;37(12):3045-53. doi: 10.1007/s11606-022-07472-x..
Keywords: Primary Care, Healthcare Delivery, Rural Health, Urban Health, Medicare
Mroz TM, Patterson DG, Frogner BK
The impact of Medicare's rural add-on payments on supply of home health agencies serving rural counties.
This analysis looked at the impact of Medicare’s rural add-on payments on supply of home health agencies serving rural counties. The authors used data from Home Health Compare. The results suggest that while supply changes are similar in rural counties adjacent to urban areas and urban counties regardless of add-on payments, only higher add-payments of 5 to 10 percent to rural counties keep them on pace with those in urban counties.
AHRQ-funded; HS024777.
Citation: Mroz TM, Patterson DG, Frogner BK .
The impact of Medicare's rural add-on payments on supply of home health agencies serving rural counties.
Health Aff 2020 Jun;39(6):949-57. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00952..
Keywords: Elderly, Medicare, Home Healthcare, Rural Health, Payment, Access to Care
Toth M, Holmes M, Toles M
Impact of postdischarge follow-up care on Medicare expenditures: does rural make a difference?
Reducing postdischarge Medicare expenditures is a key focus for hospitals. Early follow-up care is an important piece of this focus, but it is unclear whether there are rural-urban differences in the impact of follow-up care on Medicare expenditures. To assess this difference, the study authors used Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, Cost and Use Files, 2000-2010 to conduct a retrospective analysis of 30-day postdischarge Medicare expenditures using two-stage residual inclusion with a quantile regression, where the receipt of 7-day follow-up care was the main independent variable.
AHRQ-funded; HS000032.
Citation: Toth M, Holmes M, Toles M .
Impact of postdischarge follow-up care on Medicare expenditures: does rural make a difference?
Med Care Res Rev 2018 Jun;75(3):327-53. doi: 10.1177/1077558716687499.
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Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Hospital Discharge, Medicare, Rural Health
Gowrisankaran G, Lucarelli C, Schmidt-Dengler P
Can amputation save the hospital? The impact of the Medicare Rural Flexibility Program on demand and welfare.
This paper sought to understand the impact of the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program on hospital choice and consumer welfare for rural residents. The Flex Program created a new class of hospital, the Critical Access Hospital (CAH), which received more generous Medicare reimbursements in return for limits on capacity and length of stay. The investigators found that conversion to CAH status resulted in a 4.7 percent drop in inpatient admissions to participating hospitals, almost all of which was driven by factors other than capacity constraints.
AHRQ-funded; HS018424.
Citation: Gowrisankaran G, Lucarelli C, Schmidt-Dengler P .
Can amputation save the hospital? The impact of the Medicare Rural Flexibility Program on demand and welfare.
J Health Econ 2018 Mar;58:110-22. doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2018.01.004..
Keywords: Rural Health, Access to Care, Hospitals, Medicare, Payment
Vyas A, Madhavan SS, Sambamoorthi U
Differences in Medicare expenditures between Appalachian and nationally representative cohorts of elderly women with breast cancer: an application of decomposition technique.
The objective of this study was to determine Medicare expenditures during the initial phase of care among women in West Virginia (WV) who were Medicare beneficiaries with BC and compare them with national estimates. It found that the difference in average Medicare expenditures between the elderly beneficiaries with BC from a rural state (WV) and their national counterparts narrowed but remained significantly lower after multivariate adjustment.
AHRQ-funded; HS018622.
Citation: Vyas A, Madhavan SS, Sambamoorthi U .
Differences in Medicare expenditures between Appalachian and nationally representative cohorts of elderly women with breast cancer: an application of decomposition technique.
J Natl Compr Canc Netw 2017 May;15(5):578-87.
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Keywords: Cancer: Breast Cancer, Elderly, Healthcare Costs, Medicare, Rural Health
Toth M, Holmes M, Van Houtven C
Rural Medicare beneficiaries have fewer follow-up visits and greater emergency department use postdischarge.
This study tested whether rural Medicare beneficiaries have a lower likelihood of follow-up care and greater likelihood of a readmission and ED visit within 30 days postdischarge, compared with urban beneficiaries. The results provide evidence of lower quality postdischarge care for Medicare beneficiaries in rural settings.
AHRQ-funded; HS000032.
Citation: Toth M, Holmes M, Van Houtven C .
Rural Medicare beneficiaries have fewer follow-up visits and greater emergency department use postdischarge.
Med Care 2015 Sep;53(9):800-8. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000401..
Keywords: Rural Health, Elderly, Medicare, Hospital Readmissions, Emergency Department, Hospital Discharge