This paper seeks to understand the impact of the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program on hospital choice … and consumer welfare for rural residents. The Flex Program created a new class of hospital, the Critical Access Hospital … (CAH), which receives more generous Medicare reimbursements in return for limits on capacity and length of stay. We find …

This paper seeks to understand the impact of the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program on hospital choice … and consumer welfare for rural residents. The Flex Program created a new class of hospital, the Critical Access Hospital … (CAH), which receives more generous Medicare reimbursements in return for limits on capacity and length of stay. We find …

the hospital characteristics that are associated with patients choosing rural hospitals, and sheds light on the types of … patients who depend on rural hospitals for care and, hence, may be the most impaired by the closure of rural hospitals. Using … data from California hospitals, the paper shows that patients were more likely to choose nearby hospitals, larger hospitals …

US hospitals operating during 2015 was used. The primary source of data was Medicare Hospital Cost Reports. Ordinary … in a Medicaid expansion state, classification by Medicare as a Critical Access Hospital or Rural Referral Center (total … estimates for the four targeted Medicare Programs (i.e., Critical Access Hospital, Medicare Dependent, Sole Community Critical …