Concordance Between Social Needs Screening Provision, Programming, and Partnerships in Rural PPS Hospitals

New Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidelines will require Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospitals to report their strategic commitment to health, such as engagement in social needs screening, as part of their quality reporting. Using American Hospital Association survey data, we explored the following questions:

1. What, if any, social needs are being screened for in noncore, micropolitan, and metropolitan PPS hospitals overall and stratified by other characteristics (e.g., ownership status, Accountable Care Organization (ACO) participation, community characteristics)?
2. Is there concordance between what social needs are being screened and either internal programs/strategies or external partnerships to address those needs?

Publications

• Concordance Between Social Needs Screening and Availability of Associated Programs in U.S. Hospitals
  Policy Brief
  RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Date: 06/2026
  This study assesses the extent to which rural hospitals screen for social needs and the level of alignment between screening and corresponding programming. Rural PPS hospitals had greater alignment between screening and programming than CAHs. Hospitals engaged in ACOs also had greater alignment in screening and programming than those not in ACOs.