Medicare-Certified Home Health Care: Urban-Rural Differences in Utilization

CONTEXT: Availability of Medicare-certified home health care (HHC) to rural elders can prevent more expensive institutional care. To date, utilization of HHC by rural elders has not been studied in detail. PURPOSE: To examine urban-rural differences in Medicare HHC utilization. METHODS: The 2002 100% Medicare HHC claims and denominator files were used to estimate use of HHC and to make urban-rural comparisons on the basis of utilization levels within ZIP codes. FINDINGS: Overall, the proportion of Medicare beneficiaries living in areas with little HHC utilization is relatively low. Rural elders, however, are more likely than their urban counterparts to live in such areas. Less than 1% of urban beneficiaries live in ZIP codes with no or low use of HHC, but over 17% of the most rural beneficiaries live in such areas. CONCLUSIONS: Continued monitoring of rural HHC utilization and access is important, especially as Medicare seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of payment increases to rural home health agencies.     

Lower Rehospitalization Rates Among Rural Medicare Beneficiaries With Diabetes

Purpose: We estimated the 30‐day readmission rate of Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes, across levels of rurality. Methods: We merged the 2005 Medicare Chronic Conditions 5% sample data with the 2007 Area Resource File. The study population was delimited to those with diabetes and at least 1 hospitalization in the year. Unadjusted readmission rates were estimated across levels of rurality. Multivariate logistic regression estimated the factors associated with readmissions. Findings: Overall, 14.4% had a readmission; this was higher among urban (14.9%) than rural (12.9%) residents. The adjusted odds indicated that remote rural residents were less likely to have a readmission (OR 0.74, 0.57‐0.95) than urban residents. Also, those with a 30‐day physician follow‐up visit were more likely to have a readmission (OR 2.25, 1.96‐2.58) than those without a visit. Conclusion: The factors that contribute to hospital readmissions are complex; our findings indicate that access to follow‐up care is highly associated with having a readmission. It is possible that residents of remote rural counties may not receive necessary readmissions due to lower availability of such follow‐up care. Policy makers should continue to monitor this apparent disparity to determine the impact of these lower rates on both patients and hospitals alike.     

Medicare Advantage Chronic Special Needs Plan boosted primary care, reduced hospital use among diabetes patients

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 authorized the continued availability of Medicare Advantage Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans (C-SNPs). This case study examines the model of care used by the largest such plan, Care Improvement Plus, and compares utilization rates among its diabetes patients with those of other beneficiaries enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare in the same five states. This special-needs plan emphasizes direct contacts with patients to help identify gaps in care and promote primary and preventive health care. The comparative analysis indicates that people with diabetes in the special-needs plan-particularly nonwhite beneficiaries-had lower rates of hospitalization and readmission than their peers in fee-for-service Medicare. For example, risk-adjusted hospital days per enrollee among special-needs plan participants were 19 percent lower than for fee-for-service Medicare enrollees (27 percent lower for nonwhite enrollees). Risk-adjusted physician office visits were 7 percent higher among C-SNP enrollees than among comparable fee-for-service enrollees (26 percent higher for nonwhite enrollees). Although this study does not include a cost analysis, we believe that savings from reduced hospitalizations are likely to more than offset the additional costs of enhanced primary care programs. Our study suggests that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services may be able to adapt methods used by the C-SNP program to improve care and outcomes for beneficiaries with a broad range of chronic diseases.     

Access to Care for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries

This paper examines variations between urban and rural Medicare beneficiaries in three measures of access to care: self-reported access to care, satisfaction with care received and use of services. The assessment focuses on these measures and their relationship to adjacency to metropolitan areas. Comparisons are also provided for the relative effects of adjacency versus broader access barriers such as income. Data from the 1993 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey are used. The analyses offer several new perspectives on access in rural areas. First, as perceived by respondents, rural residence does not indicate access problems; instead, Medicare beneficiaries in rural counties that are adjacent to urban areas and that have their own city of at least 10,000 people report higher levels of satisfaction and fewer self-reported access problems than do residents of urban counties. These results may stem either from differences in rural residents' expectations regarding access or willingness to accept appropriate substitutions. Preventive vaccination rates in rural areas are on par with or better than rates by beneficiaries in urban areas. The only services where utilization in rural areas was limited relative to urban areas were preventive cancer screening for women and dental care. Development of policies to address these specific service gaps may be warranted. Low income has a more pervasive and problematic relationship to self-reported access, satisfaction and utilization than does rural residence per se.     

Office Systems and Their Influence on Mammography Use in Rural and Urban Primary Care

CONTEXT: Breast cancer screening rates are lower in rural communities. Although studies have addressed barriers to mammography for rural residents, physician practice barriers have received less attention. PURPOSE: Controlled clinical trials have shown that the use of office reminder systems in primary care practices is related to increased clinical care rates. Therefore, we compared office systems use in primary care practices located in rural and urban communities and assessed the impact of these systems on rural-urban differences in mammography utilization. METHODS: We identified female Kansas Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 to 79 from Medicare claims data (N = 24,030) and determined which beneficiaries received a mammogram between April 1, 1999, and March 31, 2001. We linked beneficiaries to their primary care providers and obtained surveys from 180 primary care practices on their use of office reminder systems. FINDINGS: Mammography rates ranged from 20% to 92% (mean = 65%) among the 180 practices. Flowsheets with a mammography prompt were used by 33% of the practices, 38% utilized nonphysician staff to identify women due for mammograms, and 15% used computerized reminder systems. Urban practices used flowsheets more often than rural practices (44% versus 16%, P < 0.001). A multivariable regression model demonstrated higher mammography rates in urban practices, group practices, and practices using mammography flowsheets. CONCLUSIONS: Despite success in randomized controlled trials, reminder systems are not used often by primary care providers and are used even less often in rural compared to urban practices. Consistent implementation may be a major barrier to the successful adaptation of flowsheets by primary care offices.     

Rural and urban differentials in Medicare home health use

This article addresses whether the use of Medicare home health services differs systematically for rural and urban beneficiaries. It draws on Medicare data bases from 1983, 1985, and 1987, including the Health Insurance Skeleton Write-Off (HISKEW) files and the Home Health Agency (HHA) 40-percent Bill Skeleton files. It presents background information on rural and urban beneficiaries and contrasts the use rates, visit levels and profiles, episodes of home health use, and primary diagnoses in rural and urban areas. The results point to higher home health use rates in urban areas and to a narrowing of the urban-rural use differential from 1983 to 1987. Rural home health users receive on average three more visits than their urban counterparts, with many more skilled nursing and home health aide visits. However, rural enrollees are much less likely than urban enrollees to receive medical social service or therapeutic visits, even after controlling for primary diagnosis. These findings point to the need for further analysis to understand the consequences of these differences.     

Rural Health Clinics and Diabetes-Related Primary Care for Medicaid Beneficiaries in Oregon

ABSTRACT:  Background: This study assessed whether Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) were associated with higher rates of recommended primary care services for adult beneficiaries diagnosed with diabetes in Oregon's Medicaid program, the Oregon Health Plan (OHP). Methods: OHP claims data from 2002 to 2003 were used to assess quality of diabetic care for beneficiaries residing in urban areas or rural areas with or without at least 1 RHC. Study subjects included Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) or disabled beneficiaries, aged 18-64, who were enrolled in the OHP for 12 months per study year and had at least 1 claim with a diabetes diagnosis (n = 6,267). Diabetes-related primary care was measured by the proportion of patients receiving each of 3 recommended tests at least once during the calendar year: hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), lipid profile, and eye exam. Logistic regression models were used to identify differences in testing rates across the geographic areas, after controlling for individual differences including age, race, sex, and health status. Results: Rural areas with no RHC had significantly lower rates of HbA1c testing, lipid profiles, and eye exams than urban areas (P < .01). Rural areas with at least 1 RHC had significantly higher rates for lipid profiles and eye exams than other rural areas (P < .05). No significant differences were detected in testing rates between rural areas with an RHC present and urban areas. Conclusions: RHCs in rural Oregon were associated with higher rates of recommended primary care for diabetes, consistent with the intent of the policy intervention.     

Insurance Coverage of Prescription Drugs and the Rural Elderly

CONTEXT: Rural impacts of a Medicare drug benefit will ultimately depend on the number of elderly who are currently without drug coverage, new demand by those currently without coverage, the nature of the new benefit relative to current benefits, and benefit design. PURPOSE: To enhance understanding of drug coverage among rural elderly Medicare beneficiaries and their expenditures for pharmaceuticals. METHODS: Estimates of the extent of coverage, expenditures, and sources of drugs were obtained using data are from the 1997 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey and the Pharmacy Verification and Household Components of the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. FINDINGS: Three-quarters of the urban elderly had some type of drug coverage in 1997 versus 59% of the elderly in rural areas. Urban residents were more likely to have obtained their drug coverage from an employer-sponsored supplemental plan, and rural residents were more likely to have self-purchased Medigap drug coverage. Expenditures and use of drugs by Medicare beneficiaries are greater for those with than without coverage, and differences are invariant with respect to geographic location. Coverage under self-purchased supplemental plans appears less generous than under employer-sponsored plans in both rural and urban areas. Rural and urban elderly are more than twice as likely to receive at least 1 prescribed medication through the mail than the general population. CONCLUSION: A well-designed Medicare drug benefit would be especially beneficial to the rural elderly because relatively more rural elderly currently lack coverage or have less generous coverage than urban beneficiaries. Mail-order distribution may help contain future program expenditures.     

Adequate Access to Posthospital Home Health Services: Differences Between Urban and Rural Areas

The health care environment in rural areas changed dramatically in the 1980s. Policy-makers are concerned that these changes have reduced access to care among residents of rural areas. This study measures adequate access to Medicare home health services and determines whether it differs for urban and rural beneficiaries. Adequate access to care is measured by whether a patient with a specific health condition received a level of skilled services predetermined as appropriate for that condition. The predetermined levels of care were developed in an earlier study and were found to correlate with adverse outcomes. This study focused on patients with diabetes mellitus and surgical hip procedures to concentrate on access to skilled nursing services and physical therapy services. To conduct the analysis, a data base was constructed that included both patient utilization and health status data, drawing on three different data sources: Medicare hospital claims data, Medicare home health bill record data, and home health plan of treatment data from patients' utilization review forms (forms 485 and 486). The analysis samples consisted of 404 patients with diabetes and 876 patients who had surgical hip procedures. Significant differences were found between urban and rural areas in access to home health services. The largest differences were found in access to physical therapy services, but differences in access to skilled nursing services also exist. The data suggest that the availability of skilled care services may cause these differences.     

Bypassing of Local Hospitals by Rural Medicare Beneficiaries

Several previous studies of hospital utilization by nonelderly rural residents suggest that local rural hospitals have been increasingly bypassed, often for care in urban hospitals. This resulted in lost volume for rural hospitals, detracting from their financial viability. It is not clear to what extent elderly rural residents also bypass local hospitals and whether this reflects regionalization of treatment for some conditions or avoidance of local hospitals assumed to provide inadequate care. This study examines hospital use by aged rural Delaware Medicare beneficiaries living in a ZIP code area that has a local hospital during Fiscal Year (FY) 1987 (N = 670). Most of these Medicare beneficiaries were hospitalized locally. Those beneficiaries who bypassed local rural hospitals usually did so because cardiovascular surgical procedures were required and were often only performed in large urban teaching hospitals. Beneficiaries using nonlocal hospitals were similar to users of local hospitals with respect to age and sex and traveled an average of nearly 42 miles for treatment. "Bypassing" here appears to be due primarily to regional specialization of care rather than abandonment of local rural hospitals by rural residents.     

Nonuse of local hospitals by rural Medicare beneficiaries

Previous studies of hospital utilization by rural residents suggest that local hospitals were often bypassed for treatment in larger, urban hospitals. This study examines hospital utilization by aged rural Medicare beneficiaries in Minnesota and Kentucky residing in zip codes that have local hospitals using FY 1987 Medicare discharge data. Most of these beneficiaries were hospitalized locally. Beneficiaries not using hospitals likely did so because cardiovascular surgical procedures were required and were often only performed in large urban teaching hospitals. Bypassing appears to be due to regionalization of care rather than dissatisfaction with local hospitals.     

Rural Residence and Poor Birth Outcome in Washington State

It is often assumed that poor birth outcomes are more common among rural women than urban women, but there is little substantive evidence to that effect. While the effectiveness of rural providers and hospitals has been evaluated in previous studies, this study focuses on poor birth outcomes in a population of rural residents, including those who leave rural areas for obstetrical care. Rural and urban differences in rates of inadequate prenatal care, neonatal death, and low birth weight were examined in the general population and in subpopulations stratified by risk and race using data from five years (1984-88) of birth and infant death certificates from Washington state. Also examined were care and outcome differences between rural women delivering in rural hospitals and those delivering in urban facilities. Bivariate analyses were confirmed with logistic regression. Results indicate that rural residents in the general population and in various subpopulations had similar or lower rates of poor outcome than did urban residents but experienced higher rates of inadequate prenatal care than did urban residents. Rural residents delivering in urban hospitals had higher rates of poor outcomes than those delivering in rural hospitals. We conclude that rural residence is not associated with greater risk of poor birth outcome. White and nonwhite differences appear to exceed any rural and urban resident differences in rates of poor birth outcome.     

Ambulatory Care Sensitive Hospitalization Rates in the Aged Medicare Population in Utah, 1990 to 1994: A Rural-Urban Comparison

The objective of this study is to compare the likelihood of hospitalization for conditions that are related to the adequacy and use of ambulatory health care services for Medicare beneficiaries residing in rural and urban regions in Utah. The Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) hospital discharge database (Utah hospitals: 1990 to 1994) was used to estimate hospitalization rates (with adjustment for out-of-state admissions) for ambulatory care sensitive conditions. Population estimates were obtained from HCFA beneficiary files. Regional hospitalization rates were obtained through ZIP code matching of the hospital discharge and beneficiary files. Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older residing in Utah during 1990 to 1994 are the subjects for the study. The main outcome measures include age and sex-adjusted hospitalization rates by region for the entire state and rate ratio estimates for nonurban regions. The results of the study show that Medicare beneficiaries residing in two rural-frontier regions were more likely than urban beneficiaries to be hospitalized for ambulatory care sensitive conditions. Rate ratio estimates were greater than 1.4 for both regions during the study period. These findings suggest a pattern of an increased burden of avoidable secondary complications and disease progression among Utah Medicare beneficiaries residing in some rural regions. This increased burden may be the result of limitations in the ambulatory care system, medical care provider supply, and/or beneficiary propensity to seek care. Variation in disease prevalence or hospital use patterns for these conditions also may be responsible for all or part of the observed variation in ambulatory care sensitive admission rates.     

Quality of Care for Acute Myocardial Infarction in Rural and Urban US Hospitals

CONTEXT: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a common and important cause of admission to US rural hospitals, as transport of patients with AMI to urban settings can result in unacceptable delays in care. PURPOSE: To examine the quality of care for patients with AMI in rural hospitals with differing degrees of remoteness from urban centers. METHODS: This cohort study used data from the Cooperative Cardiovascular Project (CCP), including 4,085 acute care hospitals (408 remote small rural, 893 small rural, 619 large rural, and 2,165 urban) with 135,759 direct admissions of Medicare beneficiaries ages 65 and older for a confirmed AMI between February 1994 and July 1995. Outcomes included use of aspirin, reperfusion, heparin, and intravenous nitroglycerin during hospitalization; use of beta-blockers, aspirin, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors at discharge; avoidance of calcium channel blockers at discharge; and 30-day mortality. FINDINGS: Substantial proportions of Medicare beneficiaries in both urban and rural hospitals did not receive the recommended treatments for AMI. Medicare patients in rural hospitals were less likely than urban hospitals' patients to receive aspirin, intravenous nitroglycerin, heparin, and either thrombolytics or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. Only ACE inhibitors at discharge was used more for patients in rural hospitals than urban hospitals. Medicare patients in rural hospitals had higher adjusted 30-day post-AMI death rates from all causes than those in urban hospitals (odds ratio for large rural 1.14 [1.10 to 1.18], small rural 1.24 [1.20 to 1.29], remote small rural 1.32 [1.23 to 1.41]). CONCLUSIONS: Efforts are needed to help hospital medical staffs in both rural and urban areas develop systems to ensure that patients receive recommended treatments for AMI.     

Is access to home health care a problem in rural areas?

In 1987, urban Medicare beneficiaries were 13.7% more likely than their rural counterparts to use Medicare home health care services. Regression analysis shows that rural use rates, particularly those in sparsely populated areas, fall short of those in urban areas, other things being equal. Rural areas have lower Medicare ceilings, proportionately fewer visiting nurse associations, and lower availability of auxiliary services. These factors combined account for 82% of the difference between rural and urban use rates.     

Variations in Influenza and Pneumonia Immunizations for Medicare Beneficiaries Served by Rural Health Clinics

The availability of a rural health clinic (RHC) database over the period of 6 years (2008–2013) offers a unique opportunity to examine the trends and patterns of disparities in immunization for influenza and pneumonia among Medicare beneficiaries in the southeastern states. The purpose of this exploratory study was twofold. First, it examined the rural trends and patterns of immunization rates before (2008–2009) and after (2010–2013) the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enactment by state and year. Second, it investigated how contextual, organizational, and aggregate patient characteristics may influence the variations in immunization for influenza and pneumonia of Medicare beneficiaries served by RHCs. Four data sources from federal agencies were merged to perform a longitudinal analysis of the influences of contextual, organizational, and aggregate patient characteristics on the disparities in immunization rates of rural Medicare beneficiaries for influenza and pneumonia. We included both time-varying and time-constant predictors in a multivariate analysis using Generalized Estimating Equation. This study revealed the increased immunization rates for both influenza and pneumonia over a period of 6 years. The ACA had a positive effect on increased immunization rates for pneumonia, but not for influenza, in rural Medicare beneficiaries in the eight states. The RHCs that served more dually-eligible patients had higher immunization rates. For influenza immunization, provider-based RHCs had a higher rate than the independent RHCs. For pneumonia immunization, no organizational variables were relevant in the explanation of the variability. The results also showed that no single dominant factor influenced health care disparities. This investigation suggested further improvements in preventive care are needed to target poor and isolated rural beneficiaries. Furthermore, the integration of immunization data from multiple sources is critically needed for understanding health disparities.     

Health care utilization and self-care behaviors of Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes: comparison of national and ethnically diverse underserved populations

Caring for persons with diabetes is expensive, and this burden is increasing. Little is known about service use, behaviors, and self-care of older individuals with diabetes who live in underserved communities. Information about self-care, informal care, and service utilization in urban (largely Latino, n = 695) and rural (mostly white, n = 819) Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes living in federally designated medically underserved areas was collected using computer-aided telephone interviews as part of the baseline assessment in the Informatics and Diabetes Education and Telemedicine (IDEATel) Project. Where items were comparable, service use was compared with that of a nationally representative group of Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes, using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Compared to nationally representative groups, the underserved groups reported worse general health but similar health care service use, with the exception of home care. However, compared to the underserved rural group, the underserved, largely minority urban group, reported worse general health (P < 0.0001); more inpatient nights (P = 0.003), emergency room visits (P < 0.001), and home health care (P < 0.001); spent more time on self-care; and had more difficulty with housework, meal preparation, and personal care. Differences in service use between urban and rural groups within the underserved group substantially exceeded differences between the underserved and nationally representative groups. These findings address a gap in knowledge about older, ethnically diverse individuals with diabetes living in medically underserved areas. This profile of disparate service use and health care practices among urban minority and rural majority underserved adults with diabetes can assist in the planning of future interventions.     

Improved diabetes care by primary care physicians: results of a group-randomized evaluation of the Medicare Health Care Quality Improvement Program (HCQIP)

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) measurements in patients with diabetes mellitus contribute to glycemic control, and, therefore to lower diabetic complication rates. Determine if an intervention that includes claims-based feedback about patterns of HbA1C measurement results in more frequent monitoring of HbA1C in diabetic Medicare beneficiaries. SUBJECTS: Primary care physicians in a single Southern state treating Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes mellitus. METHODS: A group-randomized evaluation of an intervention that included claims-based feedback about patterns of HbA1C measurement, educational materials, and practice aids. RESULTS: Rates for each quality indicator increased from 1996 to 1998 for both the intervention and comparison groups, although increases were larger for intervention counties. HbA1C testing rates increased in intervention counties 16.8% compared to 13.0% in the comparison counties, an absolute difference of 4.0% (95% CI, 0.7 to 7.3). Differences for other indicators were small, although positive and favoring the intervention, and lacked statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Physician interventions that included practice-level feedback about monitoring of glycemic control successfully led to improved care of diabetic Medicare beneficiaries.     

Rural Medicare Beneficiaries'Use of Rural and Urban Hospitals

This report examines the use of rural and urban hospitals by rural Medicare beneficiaries. Many rural Medicare beneficiaries are treated in urban hospitals, primarily for specialized care that is not available locally. This study examines Medicare inpatient hospital discharge data for rural beneficiaries from fiscal year 1990 to fiscal year 1998. Utilization patterns by diagnosis-related group (DRG) are examined for fiscal year (FY) 1997. The percentage of rural beneficiaries treated in urban hospitals ranged from 30 percent to 36 percent during the study period. For the most frequently occurring DRGs among rural beneficiaries, which were those for routine conditions, treatment occurred predominantly in rural hospitals. The conditions most often responsible for rural beneficiaries' use of urban hospitals during this period reflected the need for coronary and other specialized surgical care. The stability of volume and case-mix throughout the study period underscores the viability of rural hospitals during a period of substantial change in the organization of health care provision.     

The Use of Health Care Services by People With Diabetes in Rural Areas

Abstract: Current standards of health care support the view that diabetes can be managed in an outpatient setting, thereby preventing costly hospitalization. Yet, recent studies on access to care suggest that rural residents do not receive the same services for diabetes care as their urban counterparts. This study identifies differences in use for three types of services-hospital care, home health visits, and physician office visits—by geographical location. Using a sample of 6,698 Medicare beneficiaries, the authors performed multivariate analysis of variance to test the influence of geographical differences on each type of service use after controlling for the other types of service use and individual factors. Results showed significant differences among the geographical categories, with diabetic individuals in the most sparsely populated communities reporting fewer physician office visits and more home health visits than their urban counterparts. Because this pattern may have a negative impact on health outcomes, additional research is needed to determine the optimal array of services necessary to manage chronic diseases, such as diabetes, in rural areas.