Health reform

Current Projects

• A Closer Examination of Rural Hospital Bypass
  This project will estimate the rural hospital bypass rate using all-payer claims data for a set of states and compare patients based on the inpatient treatments and procedures received relative to those routinely provided by rural facilities.
  Research center: Rural Health Equity Research Center
  Topics: Critical Access Hospitals, Health reform, Health services, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Medicaid and CHIP, Medicare, Medicare Advantage (MA), Minority health, Private health insurance, Uninsured and underinsured
  
• Differences in Rural and Urban Hospital Cost Structures: Evidence and Implications
  The project will compare fixed-to-variable cost ratios in U.S. rural and urban hospitals. We hypothesize that rural hospitals will realize proportionally greater fixed costs than urban hospitals, suggesting important hospital payment system implications.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Health reform, Healthcare financing, Medicare
  
• Financial Risk Assumption Among Rural Healthcare Providers
  This project will assess rural/urban providers' participation in different payment models and assumption of financial risk in the Medicare Quality Payment Program. We will conduct qualitative interviews to examine rural providers' motivations and preparedness for participating in different risk-bearing payment models.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Health reform, Healthcare financing, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
  
• How Does Participation in Medicare Accountable Care Organizations Affect Rural Hospital Financial Outcomes?
  This project will examine the impact of Medicare Accountable Care Organizations' (ACOs') participation on rural hospitals' financial outcomes. Findings from this project will provide policy-relevant information on how ACO participation affects rural hospitals' financial bottom lines, contributing to further program design.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Care management, Health reform, Health services, Hospitals and clinics, Medicare
  
• Rural Premiums, Issuer Participation, and Enrollment in Health Insurance Marketplaces: An Updated Analysis
  The project will describe variations in Health Insurance Marketplace plan design and availability, total and net-of-subsidy premium trends, and enrollment over time between rural and urban areas and identify associations between these factors and several key policy differences and changes, controlling for economic and demographic variation.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Health reform, Healthcare access, Private health insurance, Rural statistics and demographics, Uninsured and underinsured
  
• Rural-based Accountable Care Organizations Accepting Downside Risk
  The RUPRI Center will update its studies of rural provider participation in accountable care organizations, including differences between those who exit the program, those who remain, and those who enter. In particular, this project will address participation decisions made after a rule change in July 2019 that requires conversion to two-sided risk.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Critical Access Hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Health reform, Hospitals and clinics, Legislation and regulation, Medicare