Legislation and regulation

Completed Projects

Listed by project completion date. You can also view these projects alphabetically.

Estimation of the Fixed and Variable Costs of a Rural Emergency Hospital
This project: 1) informed the design of CMS Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) payment methods, particularly the Medicare monthly additional facility payment; 2) estimated patient break-even volumes for the long-run financial sustainability of REHs; and; 3) provided a tool that rural hospitals can use to estimate the cost of operating a REH.
Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Legislation and regulation, Medicare
Three Models of a Rural Emergency Hospital
This project used secondary data about small rural emergency departments and expert opinion to develop three clinical and operational models of a Rural Emergency Hospital (REH). The REH models were based on case mix, service mix, patient volume, clinical staffing, and technology.
Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Legislation and regulation, Medicare

Increasing the Supply of Providers with a Drug Enforcement Agency Waiver to Treat Opioid Addiction in Rural America – Possible Effects of Permitting Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners to Prescribe Buprenorphine
This study investigated the possible effects on rural access to treatment for opioid use disorder if Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) waivers for prescribing buprenorphine as an office-based outpatient treatment for opioid addiction are available to Physician Assistants (PAs) and Nurse Practitioners (NPs).
Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Legislation and regulation, Nurses and nurse practitioners, Physician assistants, Physicians, Substance use and treatment, Workforce

State Policy Issues That May Impact HIMs' Success in Rural Places: A Regional Analysis
Goals of this project include gathering detailed data and providing analysis and policy recommendations on issues relating to network adequacy and service areas for HIMs, with additional investigation of other state-level policy variables (such as the Medicaid expansion decision) which may have a confounding or moderating effect on the relationship between network adequacy and enrollees' choices and premiums.
Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Topics: Health information technology, Legislation and regulation, Medicaid and CHIP, Private health insurance, Telehealth

Analyzing the Variation in the Performance of Accountable Care Organizations Serving Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
The goals of this project are to characterize ACOs that operate in rural areas, describe the models being used to organize those ACOs, and to test relationships of those characteristics to performance measures related to financial success and quality. The study will identify potential changes in legislative and regulatory policies that could strengthen the utility of the ACO model to achieve high performing rural healthcare delivery organizations.
Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Topics: Healthcare financing, Legislation and regulation, Medicare, Quality

Assessing the Community Impact of the MMA
This project will measure the community-level impacts of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) and will provide feedback to policymakers regarding the impact of the MMA on its policy targets (providers and beneficiaries), in the context of rural places.
Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Topics: Legislation and regulation, Medicare, Medicare Part D

Declining Access to Hospital-based Obstetric Services in Rural Areas: Causes and Impact
This study examines the declining availability of hospital-based obstetric services in rural areas from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s. It examines potential causes for this trend and explores the effects of medical malpractice reforms.
Research center: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Legislation and regulation, Maternal health, Women
Implementation of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit: What is Available to Rural Beneficiaries?
This study will focus on the impact of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 on rural beneficiaries, based on actual prescription drug plan contracts, comparing the impact of the legislation on rural beneficiaries to their urban counterparts.
Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Topics: Legislation and regulation, Medicare Part D

Analytic Capacity to Respond to Changes in Medicare and Medicaid, Data Assistance to Policy Staff at the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, and Production of Short Policy Briefs
This project will produce short policy briefs on a variety of topics related to proposed and enacted changes in Medicare and Medicaid, as requested by policy staff at the federal Office of Rural Health Policy.
Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Topics: Legislation and regulation, Medicaid and CHIP, Medicare
Public Health System Performance Measurement: Are Standards Applicable to Rural Communities?
This project aims to increase understanding of how public health governance affects the structure of public health services, and how this in turn influences the strategies adopted for meeting community public health needs in rural areas.
Research center: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
Topics: Legislation and regulation, Public health

Effective Strategies for Achieving HIPAA Compliance Among Rural Hospitals
Research center: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Legislation and regulation
How Will Rural Hospitals Meet Requirements for Patient Privacy?
Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Topics: Care management, Hospitals and clinics, Legislation and regulation

Arguing for Rural Health: Justice and Fairness in Advocating for Rural Health Policy
Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Topic: Legislation and regulation
Burdens of HIPAA on Rural Hospitals
Research center: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Legislation and regulation
Characteristics of Low-volume Communities
Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Topics: Healthcare financing, Legislation and regulation, Medicare
Comments on Regulatory and Contractor Reform Legislation
Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Topics: Legislation and regulation, Medicare