Policy Brief: U.S. Rural Hospital Charges Due to Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions

A new policy brief by the RUPRI Rural Health Center for Policy Analysis examines the trends and regional variations of rural hospital charges due to ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs), by insurance type, from 2000 to 2004. While ACSC-related charges as a percentage of all charges in rural hospitals decreased by 4.5% during this time period, for uninsured and Medicaid patients the percentage of total ACSC-related charges increased from 12.5% to 15.0%. The authors suggest that investing targeted resources that support ambulatory primary care in rural communities could reduce hospitalizations and associated costs. Click to read the brief.