Rural Health
Research Gateway

Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs)

Current Projects

  • A Closer Examination of Rural Hospital Bypass
    This project will estimate the rural hospital bypass rate using all-payer claims data for a set of states and compare patients based on the inpatient treatments and procedures received relative to those routinely provided by rural facilities.
    Research center: Rural Health Equity Research Center
    Topics: Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Health reform, Health services, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Medicaid and CHIP, Medicare, Medicare Advantage (MA), Minority health, Private health insurance, Uninsured and underinsured
  • Examining Differences in Rural and Urban Medicare FFS Beneficiaries' Emergency Department Use Pre-COVID-19 and During COVID-19
    This study describes and compares the differences in the utilization of emergency department (ED) services among rural and urban Medicare Fee-For-Service enrollees during 2018-2021. We will identify factors associated with differences in ED use, including shifts in volume, primary diagnoses, and admission source, before and since the COVID-19 public health emergency in rural and urban areas.
    Research center: Rural Health Equity Research Center
    Topics: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Emergency medical services (EMS) and trauma, Health disparities and health equity, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Medicare, Social determinants of health
  • Examining Post-Acute Care Utilization and Outcomes for Rural Medicare FFS and Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries
    This study will describe differences in post-acute care utilization and post-discharge outcomes between rural Medicare Fee-for-Service beneficiaries and rural Medicare Advantage beneficiaries overall and by region of the country, levels of rurality, and race and ethnicity.
    Research center: Rural Health Equity Research Center
    Topics: Care management, Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Healthcare access, Home health, Medicare, Medicare Advantage (MA), Post-acute care
  • Retention and Expansion of Hospital Services Offered by Rural Hospitals After Enrollment in 340B
    The 340B Federal program is designed to provide hospitals with financial stability through provision of drug discounts which may, in turn, allow hospitals to maintain or expand their service line offerings. Using a series of event study analyses over an 11-year period, this study will examine the impact of enrollment in the 340B program on discontinuing services, maintaining services, and adding new services in eligible rural hospitals.
    Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Topics: Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Health services, Hospitals and clinics, Pharmacy and prescription drugs
  • RHCs and CAHs Participating in SSP: Characteristics of the Providers and Communities
    This project describes characteristics of Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (SSP), and the communities they serve. Comparisons will be made to RHCs and CAHs not participating in the SSP.
    Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Topics: Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Healthcare financing, Medicare, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
  • Rural Obstetric Unit Closures
    The goal of this project is to update prior research to include the latest information on the loss of hospital-based obstetric services in rural U.S. counties. This project is important because ensuring obstetric care access and reducing maternal mortality in rural and underserved areas is a key focus of national, state, and local policies.
    Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Maternal health, Women, Workforce
  • Rural-based Accountable Care Organizations Accepting Downside Risk
    The RUPRI Center will update its studies of rural provider participation in accountable care organizations, including differences between those who exit the program, those who remain, and those who enter. In particular, this project will address participation decisions made after a rule change in July 2019 that requires conversion to two-sided risk.
    Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Topics: Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Health reform, Hospitals and clinics, Legislation and regulation, Medicare
  • Third Party Negotiated Pricing in Rural and Urban Hospitals
    We will use third party negotiated pricing information to compare prices in urban and rural hospitals, across a variety of common services. Because there has been poor compliance with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requirement to publish third party negotiated pricing, we will also examine if the availability of this information differs for rural and urban hospitals.
    Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
    Topics: Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Healthcare financing, Hospitals and clinics, Medicare, Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS), Private health insurance