Post-Acute Care in Rural Areas: The Role of Swing Beds and Nursing Homes

Link	View Research Recap
Date	03/2024
Description	Patients who have received acute care services, but are not ready to safely return home, may transition to post-acute care (PAC). The PAC phase acts as a bridge between the hospital and the next steps to recovery. This Recap examines the roles that swing beds and nursing homes have in PAC.
Topics	Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Long-term care, Post-acute care

Rural Health Research Products Included in this Recap

• Estimated Reduction in CAH Profitability From Loss of Cost‐Based Reimbursement for Swing Beds
  Policy Brief
  North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
  Date: 05/2020
  The purpose of this study was to estimate the impact of potential loss of cost-based reimbursement for swing beds on Critical Access Hospital (CAH) profitability and to examine the characteristics of CAHs that would be most affected by such a change in reimbursement.
• The Financial Importance of Medicare Post-Acute and Hospice Care to Rural Hospitals
  Policy Brief
  North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
  Date: 07/2017
  This brief describes Medicare post-acute and hospice care provided by hospitals in rural areas by characterizing the variation in the number of rural hospitals that provide PAC and hospice care, the average amount of Medicare revenue rural hospitals receive for these services, and the financial importance of PAC and hospice care to rural hospitals.
• Market Characteristics Associated With Rural Hospitals' Provision of Post-Acute Care
  Policy Brief
  North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
  Date: 04/2018
  This brief uses data from Medicare cost reports, the Provider of Services File, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide a window into current hospital-based post-acute care offerings by summarizing both hospital- and market-level factors that are associated with rural hospitals that provided post-acute care between 2012 and 2015.
• Medical Barriers to Nursing Home Care for Rural Residents
  Policy Brief
  University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 05/2017
  This policy brief describes barriers rural residents with complex medical care needs may face when seeking placement in a nursing home and identifies potential policy strategies to overcome them.
• Nursing Homes in Rural America: A Chartbook
  Chartbook
  RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Date: 07/2022
  Closure of nursing homes and hospitals with swing beds in recent years has changed the availability of post-acute and long-term care services in rural areas. This study examines the availability of post-acute and long-term care services as well as characteristics of residents and nursing homes in noncore, micropolitan, and metropolitan counties.
• Post-Acute Skilled Nursing Care Availability in Rural United States
  Policy Brief
  Southwest Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 07/2020
  This policy brief explores factors related to variations in the availability of post-acute skilled nursing care in rural areas in the U.S. The focus of this analysis is on swing bed program hospitals and skilled nursing facility post-acute skilled nursing care.
• Rural and Urban Provider Market Share of Inpatient Post-Acute Care Services Provided to Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
  Policy Brief
  North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
  Date: 04/2018
  The purpose of this brief is to characterize rural providers' market share of inpatient post-acute care services provided to rural Medicare beneficiaries.
• Trends in Nursing Home Closures in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Counties in the United States, 2008-2018
  Policy Brief
  RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Date: 02/2021
  Nursing home closures have raised concerns about access to long-term services and supports in rural areas. This study examines trends in closures and characteristics of open and closed nursing homes in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties. Furthermore, this study identifies metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties without any nursing homes.