Rural Health
Research Gateway

A. Clinton MacKinney, MD, MS

RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis

Phone: 320.493.4618
Fax: 319.384.4371
Email: clint-mackinney@uiowa.edu

Department of Health Management and Policy
University of Iowa
105 River Street, N200 CPHB
Iowa City, IA 52246

Completed Projects - (3)

  • Impact of Payment Policy on Access to Physician Care in Rural America
    Profiles of physician practices will be constructed that specify the percent of payments derived from specific current procedural terminology (CPT) codes, dichotomized into evaluation and management (often considered to define primary care) or procedural. Differences across rural practices and between rural and urban practices will be analyzed, with implications for payment policies intended to reward rural primary care.
    Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Topics: Health services, Medicare, Physicians
  • Rural-Urban Physician Payment Differences Across the Nation: Methodological Changes
    This project will simulate the effects of changes to the methodologies used to calculate the three geographic practice cost indices currently used to adjust physician payment across the 89 Medicare payment areas in the U.S. and territories. Changes to the payment formula will be analyzed to determine potential impact on payment across areas and revenues for rural physician practices.
    Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Topics: Medicare, Physicians, Workforce
  • The Rural MACRA Experience
    The Rural MACRA Experience project studied rural effects of the new Medicare Quality Payment Program (QPP) implementation and operation. Rural QPP effects included provider eligibility, program preparation and data collection challenges, data analysis bias, and differential fiscal impact.
    Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Topics: Healthcare financing, Medicare, Physicians

Publications - (67)

2024

2023

2022

  • The Evolution of Hospital Designations and Payment in the U.S.: Implications for Rural Hospitals
    Report
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis, RUPRI Health Panel: Rural Policy Analysis and Applications
    Date: 12/2022
    Medicare hospital payment policies affecting rural hospitals play a significant role in the financial viability of rural hospitals. This report provides an overview of historic and current Medicare rural hospital payment policies and alternative payment models to understand their impact on rural hospitals and the communities they serve.
  • The Impact of Medicare Shared Savings Program Participation on Hospital Financial Performance: An Event-Study Analysis
    Journal Article
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 10/2022
    This study evaluated the extent to which Medicare Shared Savings Program participation affected hospital financial outcomes, including patient revenue, operating margin, different revenue source shares, and allowance and discount rate.
  • 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.
  • Medicare Accountable Care Organization Characteristics Associated With Participation in 2‐Sided Risk
    Journal Article
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 05/2022
    This study examined the associations of accountable care organization (ACO) characteristics with the likelihood of participation in 2-sided risk tracks in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. Small and rural ACOs were found to be less prepared to transition into 2-sided risk tracks than their urban counterparts.
  • Meeting the Behavioral Health Needs of Farm Families in Times of Economic Distress
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Health Panel: Rural Policy Analysis and Applications
    Date: 02/2022
    Economic fluctuations and periods of distress in farming cannot be eliminated, however, their impact on communities and individuals can be mitigated. Strategies for meeting the behavioral health needs of farm families by supporting community-based services, and expanding behavioral health services in rural contexts are highlighted in this work.
  • High-Performing Rural Health System
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Health Panel: Rural Policy Analysis and Applications
    Date: 01/2022
    This document updates the RUPRI Health Panel's framework, for a high-performing rural health system, originally published in 2011. It offers a revised vision statement and updates the high-performing rural health system pillars (access, affordability, community health, and quality) and describes an underlying base of equity considerations.

2021

2020

  • Considerations for Defining Rural Places in Health Policies and Programs
    Report
    RUPRI Health Panel: Rural Policy Analysis and Applications
    Date: 05/2020
    Rural definitions in statute and policy are used to direct resources to underserved people. But changes in population behavior and census processes have led to concern about historic methods of defining rural. This paper identifies key questions, reviews rural definitions, and discusses options for reconsidering rural definitions.
  • Identifying Measures and Data Elements for the HRSA Evidence-Based Tele-Emergency Network Grant Program
    Policy Brief
    Rural Telehealth Research Center
    Date: 03/2020
    This brief details multi-project work to identify measures and develop data elements appropriate to emergency department-based telehealth, create an Excel-based tool, and systematically collect data from grantees in the Health Resources and Services Administration Evidence-Based Tele-Emergency Network Grant Program.

2019

  • Primary Care Clinician Participation in the CMS Quality Payment
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 04/2019
    Approximately 10% of primary care clinicians participate in Advanced Alternative Payment Models (A-APMs) and less than 30% of primary care clinicians participate in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System. Metropolitan primary care clinicians are more likely to participate in A-APMs than nonmetropolitan primary care clinicians.

2018

  • Assessing the Unintended Consequences of Health Policy on Rural Populations and Places
    Report
    RUPRI Health Panel: Rural Policy Analysis and Applications
    Date: 12/2018
    This paper explores the unintended consequences of health policy through an analysis of policy actions that have affected, or had the potential to affect, rural people, places, and/or providers in ways counteractive to policy intent.
  • Changes to the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System Pertinent to Small and Rural Practices, 2018
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 11/2018
    This policy brief highlights key regulatory changes to the Merit-based Incentive Payment System that occurred in 2018. It discusses the implications of these changes with an emphasis on how these changes may affect small and rural practices.
  • The Rural Hospital and Health System Affiliation Landscape – A Brief Review
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 11/2018
    The shift from traditional fee-for-service to value-based payment requires major capital investment. In this paper, we examine rural hospital and health system motivations for affiliation and present a non-exhaustive list of common affiliation structures with representative examples.
  • Insuring Rural America: Health Insurance Challenges and Opportunities
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Health Panel: Rural Policy Analysis and Applications
    Date: 07/2018
    This brief discusses a series of policy considerations in three main categories: policies related to rural insurance risk, policies related to provider networks, and policies related to rural payment rates and structures.
  • Organizational Attributes Associated With Medicare ACO Quality Performance
    Journal Article
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 07/2018
    Peer-reviewed paper evaluating associations between geographic, structural, and service-provision attributes of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and the ACOs' quality performance.
  • Organizational Attributes With Medicare ACO Quality Performance
    Journal Article
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 05/2018
    Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations' (ACOs') quality performance found rural ACOs' score was comparable to those in other categories. ACOs with hospital-system sponsorship, larger beneficiary panels, and higher post-hospitalization follow-up rates had better performance.
  • Medicare Accountable Care Organization Growth in Rural America, 2014-2016
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 03/2018
    This RUPRI Center data report describes Medicare accountable care organization (ACO) growth in non-metropolitan U.S. counties from 2014 to 2016. ACOs are the most widespread of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) value-based payment programs and demonstrations.

2017

  • Rural Long-Term Services and Supports: A Primer
    RUPRI Health Panel: Rural Policy Analysis and Applications
    Date: 11/2017
    This paper provides policymakers and other interested stakeholders a primer on the fundamentals of the rural LTSS system, rural access to and use of LTSS, and the opportunities and limitations of current federal and state LTSS policy for advancing rural health system transformation toward a high-performing rural health delivery system.
  • After Hospital Closure: Pursuing High Performance Rural Health Systems Without Inpatient Care
    RUPRI Health Panel: Rural Policy Analysis and Applications
    Date: 06/2017
    A new paper describing opportunities for rural communities to develop a high performance rural health system after hospital closure, including three case studies that describe real-world transitions from hospital-based locus of care to new models of care delivery in rural places.

2016

  • Medicare Accountable Care Organizations: Quality Performance by Geographic Categories
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 11/2016
    Provides an analysis of the differences in Accountable Care Organization (ACO) performance on the quality measures among the Medicare Shared Saving Program ACOs with varying levels of rural presence. Findings suggest that ACOs with significant rural presence have performed as well as, if not better than, urban ACOs in delivering quality care.
  • Medicare Accountable Care Organizations: Beneficiary Assignment Update
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 06/2016
    This brief updates Brief No. 2014-3 and explains changes in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Accountable Care Organization regulations issued in June 2015 pertaining to beneficiary assignment for Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs. Understanding ACO beneficiary assignment policies is dire in managing ACO providers and beneficiaries.

2015

  • Medicare Value-Based Payment Reform: Priorities for Transforming Rural Health Systems
    Report
    RUPRI Health Panel: Rural Policy Analysis and Applications
    Date: 11/2015
    As Medicare moves to value-based payment, healthcare groups are made more accountable for patient health. But the changes have been concentrated in urban areas. Policies meant to strengthen rural health systems are complicating payment and delivery system reform in rural areas. This study examines ways to include rural areas in the changes.
  • Care Coordination in Rural Communities Supporting the High Performance Rural Health System
    Report
    RUPRI Health Panel: Rural Policy Analysis and Applications
    Date: 06/2015
    This paper examines care coordination programs and processes that affect rural areas to discover what is happening in rural communities, how various programs and approaches are working, who benefits, and to make policy recommendations that will facilitate care coordination efforts in support of high performance rural health system development.
  • Characteristics of Rural Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) - A Survey of Medicare ACOs With Rural Presence
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 05/2015
    In this policy brief, we present the findings of a survey of 27 rural accountable care organizations, focusing on characteristics important to their formation and operation.
  • Developmental Strategies and Challenges for Rural Accountable Care Organizations
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 02/2015
    This brief offers insights into the initial strategic decisions and challenges of four accountable care organizations (ACOs) with rural presences. These ACOs were formed as a step toward a value-driven rural delivery system. While several challenges need to be addressed, these insights can inform development of other rural ACOs.

2014

2013

2012

  • The Current and Future Role and Impact of Medicaid in Rural Health
    RUPRI Health Panel: Rural Policy Analysis and Applications
    Date: 09/2012
    This report outlines and describes the current Medicaid program and its importance to rural America. It also discusses rural implications of program expansion, including whether and how states choose to implement changes.

2011

2010

2009

2008

  • Medicare Physician Payment Policy and the Rural Perspective (Final Report)
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 11/2008
    The RUPRI Center has examined the effects of Medicare payment changes on rural physician practice revenue. We infer that changes to practice revenue potentially affect physician decisions regarding rural practice. This report presents the results of the center's work and provides a framework for understanding this continuing policy question.

2006

  • Medicare Physician Payment: Impacts of Changes on Rural Physicians
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 09/2006
    This policy brief provides an overview of the effects of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 on physician payment rates in rural areas. The brief discusses the effects of the Medicare incentive payment for providing services in shortage areas and of the bonus for practicing in a physician scarcity area.
  • Care Across the Continuum: Access to Health Care Services in Rural America (2006)
    Journal Article
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 2006
    The article is divided into 3 sections: 1) basic principles that determine services to be included in the continuum and how success in providing those services is judged; 2) definition of the continuum and its basic stages based on the health systems research literature; 3) applications of the continuum and policy implications of the framework.

2005

  • Understanding the Impacts of the Medicare Modernization Act: Concerns of Congressional Staff
    Journal Article
    Maine Rural Health Research Center, RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis, Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 2005
    The most efficient mechanism for research to affect policy is to provide policy makers with information on issues about which they have voiced concern. The Rural Policy Research Institute's Health Panel conducted 2 focus groups with 16 congressional staff in 2004 to identify a set of researchable questions concerning rural healthcare.

2004

  • Rural Physicians' Acceptance of New Medicare Patients
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 08/2004
    Findings are presented regarding rural physicians' acceptance of new Medicare patients from an analyses of national survey data of urban and rural respondents, published studies, and results of a survey of state organizations representing physicians.

2003

  • Care Across the Continuum: Access to Health Care Services in Rural America
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 12/2003
    This paper proposes that a continuum of care serve as the framework with which to consider rural healthcare policies, focusing on people and on places where people live rather than on the wants of providers and constituencies.
  • Medicare Physician Payment: Practice Expense
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 10/2003
    This rural policy brief examines the physician practice expense component of Medicare payment, which proportionately results in greater geographic physician payment variation than does the physician work payment. The practice expense adjustment warrants careful validation to demonstrate that the index measures actual geographic cost differences.
  • An Assessment of Proposals for a Medicare Outpatient Prescription Drug Benefit: The Rural Perspective
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 01/2003
    This policy paper assesses legislative proposals to add an outpatient prescription drug benefit to the Medicare program and their implications for the delivery of services and the welfare of beneficiaries in rural areas.
  • Medicare Physician Payment
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 01/2003
    This rural policy brief examines how the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale has replaced the 25-year-old Medicare CPR charge system.

2001

2000