Keynote speakers included Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Al
Franken (D-MN), co-chairs of the Senate Rural Health Caucus. Senator Barrasso
(R-WY) opened the briefing with remarks about how difficult it is for people
living in rural communities to access healthcare, stressing the importance of
rural hospitals in meeting care needs as well as the economic contribution they
make to communities. In addition, he highlighted the different kind of care
that rural providers give their patients. “They are going to care for you, they
are going to care for your family in ways that you’re never going to find in a
big city,” he said. “I think we need to promote rural America and rural
medicine as kind of a last great opportunity for people who practice medicine.”
Senator Al Franken (D-MN) reflected upon the importance of
rural healthcare in the nation, with 62 million Americans (or 1 in 5) living in
rural areas. He discussed his 2015 rural health tour in Minnesota, which
included 28 events across six months with patients, providers, and policy
makers. The tour shed light on the state of rural healthcare in Minnesota, as
well as challenges faced by rural communities across the country, such as
shortages of primary care providers, long distances between patients and
providers, and lack of access to mental health services.
A panel moderated by NQF’s Chief Scientific Officer Helen
Burstin, MD, provided an in-depth look at the NQF report
and its recommendations, including the integration of rural healthcare
providers into federal public reporting and value-based payment programs in a
phased manner. Much of the discussion focused on the need for measures that are
more meaningful to rural providers and their patients and families, alignment
of measurement efforts, and mandatory versus voluntary participation in Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) quality improvement programs. Franken also
discussed HHS’s intent to ensure that quality programs outlined in the Medicare
Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) work for rural providers,
and voiced his support of NQF’s work around improving rural healthcare quality.
Panelists included experts in rural health and practitioners
in the field who also are members of NQF’s Rural Health Committee:
- Ira
Moscovice, PhD, committee chair and professor and division head of Health
Policy & Management in the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (NQF Rural Health
Committee co-chair)
- Aaron
Garman, MD, Medical Director, Coal Country
Community Health Centers in Beulah, ND
- Bruce Landon, MD, MBA, MSc, professor of healthcare
policy at Harvard University and professor of
medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Dean Bartholomew, MD, Platte Valley Medical Clinic in
Saratoga, WY
Drs. Bartholomew and Garman shared insight into their
day-to-day work. Highlighting improved quality of cancer screening due to measurement,
Bartholomew also called upon policymakers to reduce measurement burden on
providers. “We need to simplify and let doctors be doctors and not data
administrators.”
