New Report: Bank Branch Closures and Banking Deserts in PA, NJ, and DE

A new Philadelphia Fed report finds that the loss rate of bank branches in the Third District states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware more than doubled during the pandemic. Here are some of the highlights from the study.

  • The three states combined experienced a net loss of 627 branches and a significant increase in the number of banking deserts, census tracts without nearby bank branches, during the pandemic.
  • The number of lower-income, non-White, or rural banking deserts increased from six to 11 from 2019 to 2022.
  • The share of low- and moderate-income (LMI) individuals living in banking deserts increased by 30 percent.

Increasing bank branch closures are a cause for concern, as banking deserts can limit opportunities for lower-income residents to improve their financial health and accrue wealth.

Read the report.

New Report: The Role of Telehealth in Achieving a High Performing Rural Health System: Priorities in a Post-Pandemic System

Telehealth usage increased during the Public Health Emergency (PHE), and this has fueled discussions on the optimum use of telehealth in healthcare delivery. Based on experiences during the PHE, and new applications of telecommunications technologies, this report assesses potential improvements in rural health service delivery, as well as potential unintended consequences that could undermine goals to improve services for currently underserved populations. The assessment is guided by the over-arching framework of the high-performing rural health system (HPRHS), to understand the benefits of telehealth in improving health equity as affecting four pillars of the HPRHS – access, affordability, community health, and quality.

Click here to open the full document.

Principal Authors: Joel M. James, MPH and Keith J. Mueller, PhD (Panel Chair) 

Prepared by the RUPRI Health Panel: Alva O. Ferdinand, DrPh, JD; Alana D. Knudson, PhD; Jennifer P. Lundblad, PhD, MBA; A. Clinton MacKinney, MD, MS; Timothy D. McBride, PhD; Nancy E. Schoenberg, PhD

 

Updated! Catalog of Value Based Initiatives for Rural Providers Released

The Rural Health Value team has released the annual update of the Catalog of Value Based Initiatives for Rural Providers.  This is your “go to” resource for staying current on CMMI payment demos that are germane for rural health care organizations and clinicians. Please share this resource as appropriate with your networks and stakeholders:

Catalog of Value Based Initiatives for Rural Providers
One-page summaries describe rural-relevant, value-based programs currently or recently implemented by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), primarily by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and its Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).   (2023)

Link:    https://ruralhealthvalue.org/files/Catalog%20Value%20Based%20Initiatives%20for%20Rural%20Providers.pdf

Related resources on the Rural Health Value website:

Contact information:

Clint MacKinney, MD, MS, Co-Principal Investigator, clint-mackinney@uiowa.edu

A Rural Hospitals Make Gains in Interoperability

 According to a new report, interoperability – the ability of healthcare providers to exchange electronic health information – continues to improve among hospitals. As of 2021, 88 percent of hospitals engaged in sending and obtaining patient health information electronically.  The rate of availability of outside information at the point of care grew over 20 percent in 2021 reaching 62 percent nationwide.  For rural and small hospitals the rate grew by more than 26 percent, reaching a rate of 48 percent.  Additionally, usage of information received electronically from outside sources by rural and small hospitals increased at twice the rate of hospitals nationally (over 40% vs. over 20%) between 2017 and 2021. The report concludes these less-resourced hospitals are still not on par with their counterparts, indicating the need to continue addressing challenges with having full access to electronic information from external sources.

The Community Socio-Demographics and Rural Hospital Survival Analysis Has Been Released

 Among the key findings in this study from the Center for Economic Analysis of Rural Health: among rural hospitals at risk of financial distress, closures disproportionately took place in communities with specific sociodemographic characteristics: lower incomes, a lower percentage of college graduates, larger populations, lower percentages of the White population, higher percentages of the Black population, higher child poverty, higher unemployment rates, higher uninsurance rates for those younger than 65, a higher percentage of adults reporting fair or poor health, higher obesity levels, and higher rates of smoking.

Pennsylvania Report Addresses Rural Oral Health Access Issues

The Pennsylvania Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC) released a report that analyzed the state of dentistry in rural Pennsylvania and found that the state has a growing problem with access to dental care. To combat those trends and problems, the report suggests some financial changes, as well as expanding technological use.

PCOH was excited to assist the LBFC on this report as the lead stakeholder.

Click here to download the report.

New CAH Coordination of Care Brief Released

The Flex Monitoring Team released a new policy brief, Care Coordination and Community Partnerships for Cancer Care in Critical Access Hospitals. This brief presents data from a survey of 135 CAHs across the U.S. and provides specific data on care coordination services provided in CAHs and staff providing these services, as well as information related to CAH partnerships with community organizations in community cancer initiatives.