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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Recommendations on Strengthening Mental Health Care in Rural Minnesota
Presents policy and practice recommendations from Minnesota's Rural Health Advisory Committee (RHAC) Rural Mental Health Workgroup to improve access to mental healthcare for rural communities. Discusses challenges in accessing mental healthcare services in rural Minnesota.
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Minnesota Department of Health - Office of Rural Health and Primary Care
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U.S. News Live Webinar: Curbing the Crisis in Rural Health
Recording of a June 22, 2021, webinar discussing challenges facing rural healthcare providers, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Describes how some rural providers are utilizing community partnerships, telehealth, and other innovations to meet the needs of their patients. Features representatives from the National Rural Health Association, the New Mexico Primary Care Training Consortium, and Louisiana's St. James Parish Hospital. Transcript available by clicking the dots above the Subscribe tab, then selecting Show Transcript.
Date: 06/2021
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: U.S. News & World Report
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In New Mexico, Pathways Care Coordination Supports People With Opioid Use Disorder
Describes the efforts of the rural New Mexico-based Rio Arriba Health and Human Services to treat individuals with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) through an outcomes-based chronic disease care coordination model. Discusses challenges of treating OUD in a rural frontier county, including limited transportation, housing concerns, and involvement in the criminal justice system.
Author(s): Beth Connolly, Leslie Paulson
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Pew Charitable Trusts
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Deserted: Access to Healthy, Fresh and Affordable Foods is Elusive for Millions who Live in Rural America
Explores food insecurity in rural Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta. Describes the prevalence of food deserts in these areas and the changes in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program due to COVID-19.
Author(s): Jill Riepenhoff, Daniela Molina, Jamie Grey, Lee Zurik
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Investigate TV
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Need for Contraceptive Services Among Women of Reproductive Age — 45 Jurisdictions, United States, 2017–2019
Reports on the ongoing or potential need for contraceptive services among women age 18-49 by state, age group, race/ethnicity, and urban-rural status.
Author(s): Lauren B. Zapata, Karen Pazol, Kathryn M. Curtis, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 70(25), 910-915
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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HIV Treatment Outcomes in Rural Georgia Using Telemedicine
Results of a study to compare the effectiveness of HIV care delivered through telemedicine (TM) with the face-to-face (F2F) model, based on chart reviews of a total of 385 Georgia patients who attended a TM clinic in Dublin or a F2F clinic in Augusta between May 2017 and April 2018. Features statistics with breakdowns including sex, age, race, and comorbidities.
Author(s): Folake J. Lawal, Moshood O. Omotayo, Tae Jin Lee, Arni S. R. Srinivasa Rao, Jose A. Vazquez
Citation: Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 8(6)
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
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Understanding the Value of the Medicaid Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Benefit
Presents findings from a focus group of 41 Medicaid enrollees in six states who have either used the non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) benefit or are caring for a Medicaid beneficiary who has used the benefit. Describes the transportation barriers focus group participants face, their health care needs and the services they use NEMT to access, their experiences using NEMT, and suggestions for improving the benefit. Includes perspectives from rural beneficiaries.
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, PerryUndem
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System, June 2021
Evaluates Medicare payment issues and offers recommendations to the U.S. Congress. Chapter 5 presents an interim report on Medicare beneficiaries' access to care in rural areas. Also includes chapters on Medicare Advantage benchmark policy, alternative payment models, private equity and Medicare, the skilled nursing facility value-based purchasing program, indirect medical education payments, Medicare coverage of vaccines, separately payable drugs in the hospital outpatient prospective payment system, clinical laboratory fee schedule payment rates, and the relationship between clinician services and other Medicare services.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, June 2021
Semi-annual report to Congress from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC). Discusses high-cost specialty drugs in the Medicaid program, access to mental health services for those enrolled in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), integration of physical and behavioral health care through electronic health records (EHRs), Medicaid's non-emergency transportation (NEMT) benefit, and state strategies for integrating care for people who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Poverty and Access to Internet, by County
Data visualization representing internet access via computers and smartphones, broadband access, and percentage of individuals in poverty at the county level.
Date: 06/2021
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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