Publication Date: October 1st, 2001
Publication Type(s): Working Paper
Topic(s): Hospitals and Clinics
Author(s): Stenslad, J., Moscovice, I.
The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 dealt a severe financial blow to most rural hospitals by reducing Medicare payments for inpatient, outpatient, skilled nursing care, and home health care. We selected a random sample of 448 rural hospitals to investigate how rural hospitals are restructuring their operations in response to the BBA. The objective is to determine if rural hospitals have closed, raised prices, or ceased offering certain services as strategic responses to the BBA. This is the first survey to focus specifically on rural hospitals’ strategic responses to the BBA.