The shift from traditional fee-for-service to value-based payment requires major capital investment. Rural hospitals may be challenged by the volume-to-value transition because they may lack resources necessary to support new delivery models. As a result, many rural hospitals have considered affiliations with larger, better-funded regional health systems. However, rural hospital leaders often struggle to find the appropriate balance between local decision-making control and health system affiliation requirements. In this policy paper, we examine rural hospital and health system motivations for affiliation and present a non-exhaustive list of common affiliation structures with representative examples. Although hospital affiliation can take many forms, rural hospital leaders should develop a thoughtful strategy that weighs the benefits of affiliation versus independence.
Contact Information:
Keith J. Mueller, PhD
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Phone: 319.384.1503
keith-mueller@uiowa.edu
Additional Resources of Interest:
- More information about the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
- More information from the Rural Health Information Hub’s topic guides:Healthcare Access, Healthcare Quality