RHI to Lead $2.5M Study of NC Rural Healthcare
Rural Healthcare Inatative Blog
by Robert Jones
2M ago
With rural communities facing a crisis in accessible healthcare, lawmakers in North Carolina have committed funds for an independent, statewide analysis of more sustainable delivery models. Read about RHI's historic opportunity in the press release below. Raleigh, NC, September 22, 2023 – North Carolina’s new budget was approved today by the General Assembly, and Gov. Roy Cooper issued a statement that he would allow it to become law without his signature. The budget makes strong investments in healthcare, including a $2.5 million appropriation for creating “effective models of sustainable he ..read more
Visit website
Are Rural Hospital Designations Doomed?
Rural Healthcare Inatative Blog
by Dawn Carter
6M ago
Congress has been working for years to solve the problem of hospital closures in rural America, and the result is an alphabet soup of special hospital types that qualify for higher Medicare payments: CAH, MDH, LVH, SCH, and most recently, REH.* I’m glad that Washington recognizes the need to do something, but all those good intentions are being undermined by two more little letters: MA, or Medicare Advantage. As the Congressional Research Service pointed out in an April 2023 study, only traditional Medicare is required by law to pay higher rates under the various rural hospital designations ..read more
Visit website
Rural Hospital Communications: 3 Data-Driven Lessons
Rural Healthcare Inatative Blog
by Robert Jones
10M ago
It’s the economy, stupid. Campaign strategist James Carville coined that dictum in the 1992 presidential campaign, helping Bill Clinton upset George Bush amidst a deep recession. Three decades later, the phrase still holds true for understanding public attitudes toward hospitals and health systems. Based on a survey of 1,000 consumers nationwide, our friends at Jarrard have released an important new study on public perceptions of finances and healthcare. Jarrad partner Isaac Squyres, an RHI contributor, gave us a look at the rural data and offered his analysis. “The study indicates money is th ..read more
Visit website
RHI Data Support State Authorizations for Rural Emergency Hospitals
Rural Healthcare Inatative Blog
by Robert Jones
10M ago
State lawmakers across the country are debating legislation to authorize Rural Emergency Hospitals, the new federal model launched by Medicare on Jan. 1, 2023. We believe there's a lot riding on these state authorizations, so we decided to see if the REH Conversion Calculator could help quantify the urgency. We started with Arkansas, where an authorization bill has already passed the House and awaits consideration by the Senate. Arkansas has 28 Critical Access Hospitals that would be automatically eligible for REH conversion if allowed by state law. Based on recent financial and operational d ..read more
Visit website
RHI Takes the Guesswork Out of REH Conversions
Rural Healthcare Inatative Blog
by Robert Jones
11M ago
After years of study and planning, Medicare officially launched its new Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) model on Jan. 1. Experts can debate the model’s strengths and weaknesses, but for rural hospitals facing financial disaster, it all boils down to this question: Would an REH conversion improve the odds of keeping our doors open? Unfortunately, there’s never been a quick and easy way to know what the numbers look like in a specific community ­– until now. Rural Healthcare Initiative is pleased to introduce a first-of-its-kind data analysis tool for rural hospitals weighing an REH conversion ..read more
Visit website
RHI Wins Recognition from the Financial times
Rural Healthcare Inatative Blog
by Robert Jones
11M ago
At a New York City awards ceremony on Dec. 5, 2022, the Rural Healthcare Initiative was recognized by the Financial Times for "originality, leadership, and impact" in socially responsible business. "Awards don't always mean a whole lot, but this one is important to me," says RHI co-founder Bob Wilson, a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough. "It affirms not just our concept for addressing the needs of rural community healthcare in a holistic manner, but also it recognizes the looming crisis of access to healthcare, keeping healthcare local. I hope that we can shine a light on the ..read more
Visit website
Rural Healthcare Spotlight: Daniels County, Montana
Rural Healthcare Inatative Blog
by Robert Jones
11M ago
If you looked up “rural county” in the dictionary, you just might find a map of Daniels County, Montana. With 1,661 residents spread across 1,426 square miles, Daniels was named the most rural county in the continental U.S. in 2000, according to the Index of Relative Rurality. Surrounded by farmland that stretches to the horizon in every direction, Daniels Memorial Healthcare Center (DMHC) is a nonprofit, 25-bed Critical Access Hospital. As the second-largest employer in the county, DMHC enjoys strong community support and an active volunteer board, led by Paul Kanning, a fourth-generation fa ..read more
Visit website
A 911 Call for Rural Emergency Hospitals?
Rural Healthcare Inatative Blog
by Dawn Carter
11M ago
Within a matter of days, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will issue its Final Rule allowing small, rural hospitals to convert to a new Medicare provider type – the first such change in a generation. Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) status could help stem the rising tide of hospital closures by allowing under-utilized facilities to close their inpatient beds while receiving $3+ million a year in federal payments for sustainable outpatient services. Some early studies of the REH model predicted that only a few dozen hospitals were likely to make the switch, but interest appears t ..read more
Visit website
Bye-Bye, Bypass
Rural Healthcare Inatative Blog
by Robert Jones
11M ago
Hospital bypass is a major problem for rural hospitals, with large numbers of patients opting to drive long distances for care that they could easily find close to home. In a new report from the Center for Economic Analysis of Rural Health, Dr. Alison Davis takes a “meta” approach to understanding the bypass problem, synthesizing more than half a dozen recent studies that address the questions of who, how much, and why. (Her 32-page report actually looks at trends in rural demographics, insurance, telehealth, and more. The whole thing is worth a download, but it was the hospital bypass issue ..read more
Visit website
Mapping the Trends in Rural Hospital Services
Rural Healthcare Inatative Blog
by Robert Jones
11M ago
Do rural Americans have sufficient access to healthcare? Plenty of data suggest the answer is “no,” including the headline number that 182 rural hospitals have closed since 2005. But what about the hospitals that remain open? When you drill down to the service line level, are they offering the care that’s needed in their communities? A new study from the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program finds that the answer is … complicated. Using data from the American Hospital Association Annual Survey, researchers analyzed 29 service lines to see how availability changed from 2009 to 2017. Crit ..read more
Visit website

Follow Rural Healthcare Inatative Blog on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR