Research Alert: December 9, 2020

New Policy Briefs on Medicare & Medicaid Services Hierarchical Condition Category Risk Scores

The North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center released two policy briefs examining Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Hierarchical Condition Category Risk Scores. The briefs look at the scores by rurality, census region, and beneficiary race or ethnicity and compare healthcare use among rural and urban beneficiaries.

• Association of CMS‐HCC Risk Scores with Health Care Utilization Among Rural and Urban Medicare Beneficiaries
  North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, 12/2020
• CMS Hierarchical Condition Category 2014 Risk Scores Are Lower for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries than for Urban Beneficiaries
  North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, 12/2020

Additional Resources of Interest:

• Average Beneficiary CMS Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) Risk Scores for Rural and Urban Providers
• More information about the North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
• More information from the Rural Health Information Hub's topic guide: Rural Health Policy