Evaluation of Rural Community Hospital Demonstration

This project will evaluate the impact of the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration. The demonstration is examining effects of changes in Medicare reimbursements on the financial viability of small rural hospitals. The contractor will also identify strategic and operational challenges faced by the participating hospitals and the impact of demonstration payments on these challenges. CMS will reimburse demonstration hospitals at 100 percent of cost for inpatient care or a target amount, whichever is lower. The impact analysis portion of the evaluation will use the Hospital Cost Reports Information System (HCRIS), the fiscal intermediary or Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) reconciliation of hospital cost report data during the demonstration period, to estimate the change in Medicare reimbursements due to the demonstration. The case study evaluation component will examine issues pertaining to the implementation and operational experiences of the participating hospitals using semi-annual reports filed by the demonstration hospitals and interviews with hospital officials.