Rural providers already know they provide high quality care to a vulnerable patient population. Evidence already exists to back up this belief, yet more is always welcomed.
A recent study from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shows that rural hospitals outperform their urban counterparts on Medicare’s value-based purchasing program and in reducing hospital-acquired infection.
HHS officials attribute this in part to superior care coordination work on the part of rural providers, enabled by small referral and post-acute care provider networks that “can encourage collaboration across care types and settings.”
The report also states, “high levels of trust in providers may facilitate better patient experiences or outcomes both in the inpatient and outpatient setting. Rural hospitals thus have characteristics that may suggest significant potential to succeed in delivery system reform, when participation is feasible.” The full report can be read at https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/211061/RuralHospitalsDSR.pdf
Workforce shortages, older and poorer patient populations, geographic barriers, low patient volumes and high uninsured and under-insured populations are just a few of the challenges in rural health care. Yet, rural providers and hospitals work around many of these barriers to provide high quality personalized care to their communities and at a great value to Medicare.
Alarmingly, 78 rural hospitals have closed since 2010. Right now, 673 additional facilities are vulnerable and could close—this represents over 1/3 of rural hospitals in the U.S. These rural hospital closures will leave rural patients without access to the very care HHS recognizes for its high quality and its value.
The National Rural Health Association applauds HHS for recognizing the quality of care rural hospitals provide, but warns that without Congressional action more medical deserts will appear across rural America, leaving many of our nation’s most vulnerable populations without timely access to quality care. NRHA supports H.R. 3225, the Save Rural Hospitals Act and urges the Senate to sponsor a companion bill.