(March 28, 2025) – AHA Report Discusses Impact of Medicare Advantage on Rural Hospitals
As essential care providers and major local employers, rural hospitals are vital to the health and economic well-being of their communities. However, they face significant financial pressure that threatens their ability to provide essential services.
A contributing factor is the increasing number of Medicare-eligible Missourians who are covered by Medicare Advantage vs. traditional Medicare — 54 percent in April 2024, up from 30 percent in 2016, with the trend expected to increase.
MA plans often pay less than traditional Medicare for equivalent services, reduce payments through routine denials, implement overly burdensome appeals processes, unilaterally impose site-of-service limitations and restrict inpatient transfers. MA plans also use tactics that delay patient discharges by refusing to authorize appropriate post-discharge services.
The Kansas Hospital Association continues to advocate for clear legislation that compels MA plans to follow basic benefit coverage policies and to help hospitals inform consumers about the important differences between their coverage options.
Read more about the impact of MA on rural hospitals nationwide, along with detailed recommendations, in AHA's most recent report.
MLN Connects Provider eNews Available
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued the following updates to MLN Connects Provider eNews:
Before You Go ...
- In a recent systematic review published in JAMA Network Open, of depression and anxiety among individuals with chronic pain, approximately 40 percent of adults had clinically significant depression and anxiety. Women, younger people and people with nociplastic pain were most likely to have depression and anxiety. The co-occurrence of chronic pain with depression and anxiety is a significant public health concern, necessitating routine screening in clinical settings, equitable access to specialty care and innovative treatment development.
- In recent years, tremendous strides have been made in providing resources for physicians to seek care for their own mental and behavioral health, and in making them feel safer about seeking that help. However, there's still work to be done to ensure that physicians, residents and medical students can take care of their well-being. Learn more about this topic from the American Medical Association.
- The Grayken Center for Addiction at Boston Medical Center will host a free training series focused on medications for stimulant use disorders. These 30-minute webinars are offered at the following times:
- Medications for Overamping: 11 a.m. Friday, April 4
- Medications for Pregnant People with Stimulant Use Disorder: 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 7, and 11:30 a.m. Thursday, June 5
- Medications for Methamphetamine Use Disorder: 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, and 11 a.m. Friday, May 30
- A recent research report published in the journal Addiction explores retention rates among patients with opioid use disorder prescribed 16, 24, 32 and 40 mg doses of buprenorphine-naloxone. Treatment retention rates were higher among those with a daily buprenorphine dose of 24 mg when compared to those on 16 mg.