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SHOWING 1-6 OF 6 REFERENCES This is the final article in the 4-part series on rural health, where doctors and hospitals in rural America are examined.
Positive results provide additional evidence on the far-reaching economic development impacts of CAHs and emphasize the importance of continued support for these rural institutions, including federal and state subsidies. The local economic effects of a hospital closure should be considered when regulations that affect hospitals' financial well-being are designed or changed.
Financial and market characteristics appear to be associated with closure of rural hospitals from 2010 through 2014, suggesting that it is possible to identify hospitals at risk of closure.
Compared with non-CAHs, CAHs had fewer clinical capabilities, worse measured processes of care, and higher mortality rates for patients with acute myocardial infarction, CHF, or pneumonia.
The North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center released two policy briefs based on a national survey of Critical Access Hospital (CAH) executives. One looks at health system challenges CAHs face while the other examines the executives’ thoughts on the viability of various alternatives to hospital closures. Read more here.
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center These policy briefs based on a national survey of critical access hospital (CAH) executives from the North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center look at health system challenges CAHs face and the executives' thoughts on the viability of various alternatives to hospital closures.
Rural hospitals are an integral part of the healthcare system. Because of their significant contributions to overall community well-being, they are a critical component of communities across rural America. Rural hospitals provide services across the continuum of care from primary care to long-term care. Recent years, however, have presented challenges for rural hospitals. Factors such as low reimbursement rates, increased regulation, reduced patient volumes, and uncompensated care have caused many rural hospitals to struggle financially. Consequently, as outlined in The 21st Century Rural Hospital, rural hospitals have adapted by modifying their services and structure. This guide provides information on the following topics related to rural hospitals:
Frequently Asked Questions What are the various rural hospital designations/provider types?Due to greater reliance on federal and state payers, low volume, and complexity of services provided, many rural hospitals struggle to remain financially viable under the traditional Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS). As a solution, several payment programs, designated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), provide consideration for special circumstances including the following:
In addition, there is one long-term CMS demonstration: What effect do rural hospitals have on the local economy?Healthcare spending in a community has a significant impact on the local economy. Rural hospitals impact communities through their capacity to attract new businesses and through wages generated by employment. As detailed in the Economic Impact of Rural Health Care, rural hospitals impact their local communities in the following ways:
For more information on the economic impact of healthcare on rural communities, see RHIhub's Community Vitality and Rural Healthcare topic guide. What impact does hospital community benefit spending have on rural communities?The IRS requires tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals to conduct community benefit activities, beginning with a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) every three years. Results from 2019 Tax-Exempt Hospitals' Schedule H Community Benefit Reports, a 2022 report from the American Hospital Association, shows that rural hospitals spent 10.1% of total expenses on community benefit in fiscal year 2019, including 4.9% of total expenses on financial assistance and unreimbursed costs from Medicaid and other government programs. Community Benefit Insight, a website developed by RTI International, allows users to access community benefit spending information from tax-exempt hospitals nationwide and compare the data for up to five hospitals. For information on CHNAs, see What are the requirements for hospitals to conduct Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNAs)? on RHIhub's Conducting Rural Health Research, Needs Assessment, and Program Evaluation topic guide. What services are provided at rural hospitals versus urban hospitals?Community Impact and Benefit Activities of Critical Access, Other Rural, and Urban Hospitals, 2020 compares services available at Critical Access Hospitals, rural hospitals, and urban hospitals. As might be expected, most services are more frequently available in urban hospitals than rural hospitals. There are a few exceptions for services such as long-term care, home health services, and health fairs, which may be more frequently offered by a rural hospital because they would not otherwise be available in the community. Changes in Provision of Selected Services by Rural and Urban Hospitals between 2009 and 2017 examines the trends in the provision of hospital-based services over time. While the percentage of urban hospitals offering labor and delivery, obstetrics, home health, and skilled nursing facilities (SNF) services increased between 2009 and 2017, the percentage of rural hospitals offering these services declined during this period. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approves Critical Access Hospitals and rural prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals with fewer than 100 beds to furnish swing bed services. A swing bed is a bed that can be used for either acute care or post-acute care that is equivalent to SNF care and provides participating hospitals with the flexibility to meet unpredictable demands for acute and SNF care. According to The Financial Importance of Medicare Post-Acute and Hospice Care to Rural Hospitals, 314 rural PPS hospitals provided swing bed services in 2015. For more information about swing beds, see What is a swing bed? How does rural emergency department volume and visit type differ from urban areas?According to the 2019 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 83.5% of all emergency department (ED) visits were in metropolitan areas, with 16.5% of ED visits in nonmetropolitan areas. However, nonmetropolitan emergency departments experienced a higher visit rate per capita, and a higher percentage of visits related to injuries, than metropolitan emergency departments. Trends in Emergency Department Use by Rural and Urban Populations in the United States shows visits to rural emergency departments increased about 70% between 2005 and 2016 (16.7 to 28.4 million visits), while urban emergency department visit rates rose nearly 19% (98.6 to 117.2 million visits). In 2005, the rate of urban emergency department visits was 10% higher per capita than in rural communities. In 2016, however, rural emergency department visits were 50% higher per capita than in urban areas. The increase in rural emergency department utilization for semiurgent care in rural areas suggests possible challenges to accessing routine primary care among these populations. See RHIhub's Healthcare Access in Rural Communities topic guide for information on the importance of primary care and barriers to healthcare access in rural areas. Despite the higher per capita rates of emergency department use in rural areas, rural EDs typically have lower volumes due to the lower population density of their service areas. These lower volumes mean that rural EDs are less likely to have specialized staffing; a 2018 Annals of Emergency Medicine article concludes that rural EDs are less likely to be staffed by emergency medicine physicians and more likely to be staffed by non-emergency medicine physicians, such as family medicine or internal medicine physicians. Rural EDs were also slightly more likely to be staffed by advanced practice providers. For details on emergency services provided by Critical Access Hospitals, see RHIhub's Critical Access Hospital topic guide. For additional information on rural emergency medical services, including statistics and data on trauma-related deaths and nonfatal injuries treated in emergency departments, see RHIhub's Rural Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Trauma topic guide. What do we know about quality of care at rural hospitals?The quality of care provided at hospitals, both urban and rural, is monitored by state and federal agencies to ensure the safe delivery of care. Although many quality measures are standardized, there are several ways to define and measure quality such as patient experience, cost effectiveness, patient outcomes, and following evidence-based guidelines for care. An October 2019 CMS fact sheet, CMS Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program Results for Fiscal Year 2020, looked at adjustments made for Medicare payments to hospitals based on their performance on a set of quality measures. Rural and smaller (non-Critical Access Hospital) hospitals generally performed better in the following areas compared to urban hospitals: safety, person and community engagement, and efficiency and cost reduction. However, Performance Measurement for Rural Low-Volume Providers, a 2015 report from the National Quality Forum (NQF), highlights some challenges to healthcare quality in rural areas including fewer providers, lack of information technology, and many demands falling on fewer people. Furthermore, it can be difficult to compare rural and urban quality measures due to low volume of a given type of case or procedure in rural settings and differences in the populations being served. Oftentimes rural hospitals don't have a sufficient volume of patients for certain quality measurements to allow for meaningful comparisons. A June 2017 brief from the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program, CMS Hospital Quality Star Rating: for 762 Rural Hospitals, No Stars Is the Problem, reports that a majority of the hospitals excluded from the April 2017 CMS Hospital Quality Star Rating list were rural. Hospitals that don't meet the minimum number of cases to report are not given a star rating. The brief points out that a consumer looking at the ratings may not realize that lack of a star rating does not indicate low quality and may simply be due to a lack of sufficient data. According to Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating: Overview For Flex Programs and Rural Stakeholders, over 60% of CAHs did not meet the minimum threshold to receive a star rating in 2021. Addressing Low Case-Volume in Healthcare Performance Measurement in Rural Providers: Recommendations from the MAP Rural Health Technical Expert Panel, a 2019 NQF report, describes healthcare quality measures and data collection and analysis techniques that address the challenges posed by small rural hospitals and other low case-volume providers. The 2020 report Rural-Relevant Quality Measures for Testing of Statistical Approaches to Address Low Case-Volume identifies 15 rural-relevant quality measures that could be used to test approaches to address this problem. For more information on issues related to quality of care in rural hospitals, see RHIhub's Healthcare Quality topic guide. How are rural hospitals utilizing health networks and hospital systems to benefit rural communities?Affiliations between rural hospitals and other healthcare providers or community organizations can be informal short-term collaborations around a specific need, formal long-lasting partnerships, or somewhere in between. A multihospital health network is defined in RHIhub's Rural Health Networks and Coalitions Toolkit as “a group of three or more rural health providers and/or other stakeholders that join forces to address mutually agreed-upon needs in the community.” A health system is defined by the American Hospital Association's Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals, 2019, as “two or more hospitals owned, leased, sponsored, or contract-managed by a central organization.” According to the AHA, a single freestanding hospital may also be considered a hospital system by “bringing into membership three or more, and at least 25%, of their owned or leased non-hospital pre-acute or post-acute health care organizations.” The Rural Hospital and Health System Affiliation Landscape – A Brief Review provides an overview of different types of network and system affiliations. According to Trends in Hospital System Affiliation, 2007-2016, 56.1% of all nonmetropolitan hospitals are affiliated with healthcare systems in 2016, up from 45.6% in 2007. Critical Access Hospital affiliation with hospital systems increased from 36.6% in 2007 to 42.8% in 2016. Table 2 of this report also highlights that larger hospitals are affiliated with health systems at a higher rate than smaller hospitals. Health System Affiliation and Characteristics of Inpatient Stays at Rural and Metropolitan Hospitals, 2016 highlights that 66.6% of all inpatient stays at rural hospitals areas took place at a system-affiliated facility. The Rural Hospital and Health System Affiliation Landscape – A Brief Review outlines factors rural hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals, and health systems may consider when they pursue affiliation agreements. Rural hospitals and healthcare networks and systems can combine each member's resources and expertise to improve the health of the community while reducing overall costs. For example, members of a rural healthcare network may pool resources to purchase an expensive piece of medical equipment or share administrative staff. Health systems may pursue agreements with rural hospitals to increase their market share or gain territory, increase subspecialty referrals, and reduce costs, among other reasons. By working together, participants in health networks and systems aim to improve the clinical and financial performance of rural hospitals. However, Access, Quality, and Financial Performance of Rural Hospitals Following Health System Affiliation found that while rural hospitals saw increased margins after affiliating with a health system, the now-affiliated rural hospitals also experienced reductions in obstetric and primary care service lines and onsite imaging technologies. If you are considering developing or expanding a health network, see RHIhub's Rural Health Networks and Coalitions Toolkit. The Health Resources and Services Administration's Federal Office of Rural Health Policy operates a competitive Rural Health Network Development grant program that funds rural health networks in order to improve efficiency, access, and quality of care. Rural Health Network Development Program: Grantee Directory, 2020-2023 provides brief overview of the 44 initiatives funded for the 2020-2023 grant cycle. How is technology changing healthcare provision in rural hospitals?Technological advancements have the potential to increase access to, and the quality of, healthcare services in rural communities. These include two prominent examples:
Technologies such as these have advanced communication between physicians and patients and offer innovative methods of overcoming challenges providing healthcare services to rural communities. What funding is available for rural hospital capital improvement projects?Capital funding is the term used for financing construction costs and/or major purchases, such as:
Several funding opportunities are available for rural hospitals. See RHIhub's Capital Funding for Rural Healthcare topic guide to learn about options for financing a new facility, renovating an existing facility, or purchasing major equipment. What are the most prominent challenges faced by rural hospitals?There are many challenges to operating a hospital in the current healthcare environment:
How many rural hospitals are closing, and why do they close?According to the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program, 138 rural hospitals closed between January 2010 and February 2, 2022. See the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program’s Rural Hospital Closures for current information on rural hospital closures in both a list and map format. Rural Hospital Closures: Number and Characteristics of Affected Hospitals and Contributing Factors, a 2018 report from the Government Accountability Office, examines the causes and impact of rural hospital closures. Changes in Socioeconomic Mix and Health Outcomes in Rural Counties with Hospital Closures, 2005-2018 also explores the socioeconomic and health outcomes in rural counties that experienced hospital closures. The following Rural Health Research Recaps further summarize findings on rural hospital closures from FORHP-funded rural health research centers:
A recording of a January 2018 webinar, Rural Hospital Closures, discusses hospital closures nationwide, causes for the closures, and potential solutions. What are Rural Emergency Hospitals?Rural Emergency Hospital is a new Medicare provider type established as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, and effective January 1, 2023. Designed to preserve access to emergency and outpatient care in rural communities, the law allows Critical Access Hospitals and other small rural hospitals meeting eligibility criteria to convert to Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) status. According to the law, REHs must:
Additionally, REHs are not permitted to provide inpatient services. They may provide extended post-acute care services through distinct part unit (DPU) skilled nursing facilities (SNF) and other outpatient services. Rural Emergency Hospitals will be reimbursed at 105% of the outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) for all emergency and outpatient care services in addition to a fixed monthly payment. Other services provided will be reimbursed at traditional fee-for-service rates. REHs will also be able to serve as originating sites for telehealth services. In addition, REHs will be required to submit quality reporting data. How Many Hospitals Might Convert to a Rural Emergency Hospital (REH)?, a July 2021 analysis by the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program, examines rural hospital closures between 2011-2020 and predicts the number of rural hospitals that are likely to consider conversion to the Rural Emergency Hospital designation. The Rural Emergency Hospital and Value-Based Care outlines considerations for local stakeholders before REH conversion. The October 2021 National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services report Rural Emergency Hospital: Policy Brief and Recommendations to the Secretary offers policy recommendations related to participation conditions, quality reporting, reimbursement, and emergency medical transfer agreement. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will publish additional requirements for Rural Emergency Hospitals through regulations and guidance. RHIhub will add additional resources on Rural Emergency Hospitals to the online library as more information becomes available. What other alternative hospital models have been used or proposed to serve rural communities? Rural Freestanding Emergency Departments (RFEDs) A 2015 report from the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program, Estimated Costs of Rural Freestanding Emergency Departments, discusses three models of RFEDs based on patient volume, with information on staffing, beds, and cost. The same organization offers The Freestanding Emergency Department Financial Assessment Strategic Tool (FED FAST), an Excel spreadsheet that communities can use to determine whether transforming their hospital into a RFED will be financially feasible. Examples of rural communities that have developed RFEDs: Frontier Community Health Integration Project (FCHIP) For information on small or rural hospitals For support, resources, and technical assistance For technical, policy, and operational assistance of rural health issues |