National Rural Hospital Flexibility Program Tracking Project


Description:

In 1997, the U.S. Congress created the Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex Program) as part of the Balanced Budget Act (BBA). This program provides for cost-based reimbursement under Medicare to eligible small, relatively remote hospitals. A companion grant program supports state emergency medical services systems (EMS) and hospital participation in the program. The reimbursement component is the responsibility of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), while the grant program is the responsibility of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP). Funding to support the monitoring efforts of the Flex Program Tracking Team was provided under the grant program appropriation. The Tracking Team was a consortium of six rural health research centers. Each Center had lead responsibility for several research components of the study. In 2002/2003, the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center took responsibility for assessing state program evaluations, evaluating a number of workforce issues faced by critical access hospitals (CAHs, and looking at the intersection of CAHs) and another federal program, the Mississippi Delta Hospital Performance Improvement Initiative. WWAMI also provided overall project direction and coordination to the participating centers. The main national goals for implementation of the grant component of the Flex Program in the states and participating hospitals included (1) preparing a state rural health plan, (2) converting eligible and willing hospitals to critical access hospital (CAH) status, (3) improving quality of care, (4) promoting networking among hospitals, and (5) improving emergency medical services.

 

Status:

Complete

 

Publications/Presentations

Authors Title Type Date Documents/Media
House PJ State-based evaluations of the Flex Program PUBLICATION 01-01-2003
Hagopian A, Johnson KE, Fordyce MA, Blades S, Hart LG Staffing the business office in critical access hospitals while meeting regulatory and payment system challenges PUBLICATION 01-01-2003
Hagopian A, Johnson KE, Fordyce MA, Blades S, Hart LG Health workforce recruitment and retention in critical access hospitals PUBLICATION 01-01-2003
Hagopian A, Thompson MJ, Kaltenbach E, Hart LG The role of international medical graduates in America's small rural "critical access" hospitals PUBLICATION 01-01-2003
Hagopian A, Hart LG Administration in critical access hospitals PUBLICATION 01-01-2001
Hagopian A, Hart LG Critical access hospitals and community development PUBLICATION 01-01-2001
Hagopian A The CAH start-up kit PUBLICATION 01-01-2000
Hagopian A Modeling economic changes in communities and their health systems PUBLICATION 01-01-2000
Flex/CAH Tracking Team Rural Hospital Flexibility Program: the Tracking Project third-year findings PUBLICATION 01-01-2002
Flex/CAH Tracking Team The Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, the Tracking Project: second-year findings PUBLICATION 01-01-2001
Hagopian A, Hart LG, Poley S, Flex/CAH Tracking Team Rural Hospital Flexibility Program: the Tracking Project first-year findings PUBLICATION 01-01-2000
Rural Hospital Flexibility Program Tracking Project Year 02 report PUBLICATION 01-01-2001
Hagopian A, Hart LG Rural Hospital Flexibility Program: the tracking project reports first-year findings PUBLICATION 04-01-2001 Article