MHA's Center for Rural Health

MHA hosting webinar on Chargemaster for Critical Access Hospitals

The Mississippi Hospital Association is hosting a two-part series on Chargemaster for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).

CAHs are cost-based reimbursed so coding, billing and,associated reimbursement differ from PPS hospitals. The coding and billing process, along with the chargemaster and development of the cost-report, are critical.

A differentphilosophical approach to the chargemaster is needed with due consideration to CMS coding and billing requirements. The first part of the series is Feb. 21 from 1:00 – 2:30 pm, and the second part is set for  March 20 from 1:00 – 2:30 pm.

The registration fee for each is $175 for members and $325 for non-members. (The cost is for one connection fee, so multiple employees can benefit from the one registration cost.) The instructor will be Duane Abbey. Register online here. For more information, contact Karen Hargett at (601) 368.3263 or khargett@mhanet.org. 

AHA small/rural section names leaders

Congratulations to Alvin Hoover, CEO of King's Daughters Medical Center in Brookhaven. He has been named the chair-elect of the American Hospital Association's Section for Small or Rural Hospitals in 2012.  He will become chairman in 2013.

Staci Covey, president of Guthrie Healthcare System’s Troy (PA) Community Hospital, will lead the section this year. Covey will chair the section's governing council, which represents small or rural hospitals in the AHA’s policy process and member services initiatives. She is past chair of the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania’s Council for Small and Rural Hospitals and serves as a governor-appointed member on the Pennsylvania Health Care Leadership Council.

For more on the section's governing council, see the AHA news release.

MedPAC discusses rural payment report

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission on Jan. 13 discussed its mandated report on rural health care provider payment adequacy, due to Congress in June. The commission discussed access to services, quality of care, payment adjustments and payment adequacy in rural areas, stating that Medicare’s rural payment policy has largely been successful.

The commissioners mostly favored including several guiding principles for special rural payments in the final report, rather than specific recommendations. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires MedPAC to evaluate access to care, quality of care, special rural payments and the adequacy of Medicare payments to providers in rural areas.

[ via AHA News Now ]

Location, Location, Location

Recruiting physicians to rural hospitals is a perennial struggle. However, some organizations are winning over physicians with an array of incentives and board support.

Read more from Trustee magazine here.

Reinventing Rural Health Care

Rural hospitals are confronting many daunting challenges in the changing health care landscape. Fortunately, there appears to be a growing openness to reinvent rural health among community leaders and hospital CEOs across the country. Read more from Hospitals & Health Networks here.

Effect of Swing Bed Use on Medicare Average Daily Cost and Reimbursement in Critical Access Hospitals

This analysis estimates the average net cost to Medicare of a skilled nursing facility (SNF) swing day by simulating the elimination of all Medicare skilled nursing facility swing bed days in Critical Access Hospitals in 2009.

Top 9 Rural Small Business Trends for 2012

Rural small business trends are always different from general small business trends. This year, the difference is in the economic outlook. With the consensus of economic predictions for 2012 showing slower national growth and the odds of a renewed U.S. recession at 1 in 3, the national economy doesn’t look good. Contrast that with the local economies in rural areas. The Rural Mainstreet Index is at its highest level since 2007, and rural small business looks promising.

Read more here.

AHA urges Congress to extend key programs for hospitals, patients

The American Hospital Associaton on Nov. 29 urged Congress to extend several expiring health programs and provisions important to hospitals and the patients they serve. In a letter, AHA asked leaders of the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees to support legislation to extend: payments for the technical component of certain physician pathology services; ambulance add-on services; the outpatient hold-harmless provision for rural hospitals and Sole Community Hospitals; Medicare cost payments for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests furnished in certain rural areas; Section 508 hospital wage index reclassifications; and the sunset for Critical Access Hospitals under the HUD 242 hospital mortgage insurance program.

“In addition, several critical programs, such as the Medicare-dependent hospital program and the enhanced low-volume adjustment for prospective payment system hospitals, are scheduled to expire next calendar year,” AHA said. “Your support for extending these programs and provisions is vital.”

Where Rural Hospitals Fit Within Healthcare Reform: Q&A With Hill Country Memorial CEO Dr. Michael Williams

n 2008, Dr. Michael Williams, MD, became the CEO of Hill Country Memorial Hospital in Fredericksburg, Texas, after serving on its board for five years and after serving several years as the lead anesthesiologist at the hospital. Dr. Williams assumed the role with the goal to improve the quality of care and ensure the sustainability of the 86-bed hospital.

As a practicing anesthesiologist, Dr. Williams earned his MBA from Duke University and more recently a master's in healthcare management from Harvard, providing him a foundation for understanding the business side of healthcare. He also serves as an executive vice president for EmCare's Anesthesia Care Now division, where he is involved with strategy and leadership development.

Here Williams discusses the challenges of running a rural hospital and opportunities for improving how care is delivered.

USDA announces funding for rural health care

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced grants that will fund 10 health care projects in six states to establish telemedicine and deliver health care services to areas that lack adequate care. Established by the 2008 Farm Bill, the grants seek to address unmet health needs in the Delta region, which includes 252 counties and parishes in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee that are served by the Delta Regional Authority. “These projects can provide care to patients currently receiving no care at all and hopefully reduce the incidence of stroke, mental illness and other health disorders in rural regions,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.

[ via AHA News Now ]