Save the Date – AFIB Coalition Boot Camp
September 30, 2016
Chicago, IL
View the flyer

What’s New

New Report:  Rural-Urban Differences in Coverage from Private Insurers.  Today, the Minnesota Rural Health Research Center released a new brief on the number of insurers available to consumers in rural and urban counties through the Federally-Facilitated Marketplace (FFM).  The researchers found that, of the 2,512 counties served by FFMs, 34% had only one or two insurers offering coverage. Of those, 80% of the counties were rural.

To access the MN brief, visit: http://rhrc.umn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Marketplace-Insurer-Participation.pdf

In June of this year, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation released analysis of the Affordable Care Act’s impact on individuals living in rural communities.  Key highlights from that report:

• Coverage: Rural individuals, like those living in urban and suburban areas, have seen large coverage gains under the ACA – about an 8 percentage point increase from before the first open enrollment period through early 2015.
• Premium tax credits: Among the 88 percent of rural HealthCare.gov consumers with premium tax credits, the average net monthly premium increased by $5, or 4 percent, between 2015 and 2016.
• Access to care: Individuals in rural areas have seen improvements in access to care; the share who report being unable to afford needed care declined by nearly 6 percentage points from before the first open enrollment period through early 2015.

Continue reading “Announcements from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy” →

November 15-16, 2016
The Hilton Garden Inn
3300 Vandiver Drive
Columbia, MO

Our Rural Health Workshops will focus on:

• Health Disparities
• Rural Communities & the Health Insurance Marketplace
• Missouri Rural Hospitals Update
• Recruiting for the Generations
• Alternative Payment Methods
• Navigating Stark and Anti-Kickback Laws

Registration forms and agenda can be found at www.morha.org

This month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) opened the application period for practices to participate in the new primary care model, Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+), which is available to practices in Kansas and Missouri.  This model is an important opportunity to increase access and comprehensiveness of care to patients in rural communities. The CPC+ practice application period runs from August 1 – September 15, 2016.

CPC+ offers a unique chance for eligible primary care practices in 14 regions and states across the country to receive additional financial and technical support from Medicare and other payers.  Across these 14 regions, CMS’ goal is to have a large geographic spread and to ensure that rural practices are well represented in CPC+. In addition to the added support practices will receive from Medicare in CPC+, some may also be eligible for a 5% bonus payment for participating in an Advanced Alternative Payment Model through the proposed CMS Quality Payment Program.

Continue reading “CPC+ Application Period” →