The American Medical Association (AMA) has adopted new minimum standards for alternative payment models (APMs) tailored to rural hospitals, aiming to stop financial losses, preserve essential services, and give hospital CFOs stronger leverage with payers.
Rural health systems are under severe financial pressure. Many serve low-volume, older and sicker populations, face high rates of uncompensated care, and are increasingly forced to shut down critical service lines such as obstetrics, emergency care, behavioral health, and cancer treatment. In response, the AMA recently adopted a set of APM standards specifically designed for rural hospitals, establishing industry-backed benchmarks to support sustainable reimbursement models.
Also, get all the details in the accompanying article.
Marie DeFreitas is the CFO editor for HealthLeaders.