Year 2 of a project developing a longitudinal data collection/tracking mechanism of key RHC Medicare claims data and cost report elements. RHC Medicaid data for a sample of states also will be requested and analyzed to determine utilization patterns and identification of potential quality metrics.

Publications

• Characteristics of Medicaid Beneficiaries Who Use Rural Health Clinics
  Policy Brief
  North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
  Date: 05/2016
  The RHC role varies by state. While we don't have an understanding of what this looks like for each state, we can see that RHCs are an important provider for Medicaid beneficiaries. One of the most important differences is by age groups. All states tend to cater RHC services toward children, with a minimum of 39% of the RHC population < 18.
• Identifying Rural Health Clinics in Medicaid Data
  Policy Brief
  North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
  Date: 05/2016
  Identifying Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) in Medicaid claims across states is challenging, but this brief recommends methods for identifying the majority of these claims in four states.