The members of the 107th Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have proposed legislation to provide regulatory relief and contracting flexibility under the Medicare program. Most of the attention is on the process used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS, formerly HCFA) to engage contractors (also known as fiscal intermediaries) who would administer various aspects of the Medicare program, including payment to providers. The purpose of this project is to obtain comments from rural health providers and others regarding perceptions of current contracting practices and performance, areas of concern unique to rural providers, and suggestions for changes. Input will be obtained by telephone interview or email response from a convenience sample of state hospital associations, rural hospital administrators and staff, physicians, accounting firms, attorneys, consultants, rural health clinics and physician clinics. A special policy brief will be prepared to review proposed legislation and highlight rural implications of reforming the contracting system.

Publications

• Comments on Regulatory and Contractor Reform Legislation
  RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Date: 01/2002
  This rural policy brief informs policy and reports on the rural issue of contractor reform following the passage of the Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act of 2001. The findings consist of responses from interviews with a range of healthcare professionals and experts.