Research Alert: September 2, 2021

Medicare Covers a Lower Percentage of Outpatient Costs in Hospitals Located in Rural Areas

In most rural hospitals, the greatest portion of net patient revenue is from outpatient services versus urban hospitals that have, on average, about half from outpatient and half from inpatient services. In addition, Medicare accounts for a higher percentage of outpatient revenue in rural hospitals. Therefore, outpatient services in total, and Medicare as a payer for outpatient services, are more important in rural hospitals than urban hospitals.

Additional Resources of Interest:

• More information about the Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
• More information from the Rural Health Information Hub's topic guides: Hospitals, Rural Health Policy