Government Healthcare Policy, Business and Technology

Pennsylvania to try new payment model for rural hospitals

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Pennsylvania will be testing what state officials termed a historic new payment model for rural hospitals designed to improve the health of Pennsylvania’s rural residents and help the hospitals they depend on stay financially solvent.

With $25 million in funding from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model will try an innovative payment structure in which hospitals will be paid a set amount each month, instead of being reimbursed for services provided.

“Today we reward rural hospitals for inpatient admissions, in a world where inpatient admissions are declining and hospitals are struggling to stay afloat,” said physician Stephen Cha, director of the state innovations group at the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

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