This website is being reviewed for updates. Some information is offline. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Expanded Report to Congress: Non-Emergency Medical Transportation in Medicaid, 2018–2021
Examines the Medicaid analysis of non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) using Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) data from 2018-2021. Explores the number and percentage of Medicaid beneficiaries using NEMT, the average number of NEMT "ride days" per NEMT user per month enrolled in Medicaid, the types of medical services accessed when using NEMT, monthly trends in the use of NEMT versus telehealth services before and during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), and the volume of NEMT services used by type of NEMT delivery model. Offers recommendations for states and local stakeholders regarding Medicaid coverage of NEMT. Presents data by state and by beneficiary characteristics, including Medicaid eligibility category, health conditions, and urban-rural location.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
view details
Predicting Firm Creation in Rural Texas: A Multi-Model Machine Learning Approach to a Complex Policy Problem
Evaluates Texas counties between 2008 and 2018 to identify factors contributing to entrepreneurship for rural areas. Discusses how healthcare, elder care, and child care predict growth in entrepreneurship. Compares predictive factors for rural areas with urban predictive factors. Makes recommendations for research, policy, and scholarship for rural entrepreneurship.
Author(s): Mark C. Hand, Vivek Shastry, Varun Rai
Citation: PLOS ONE, 18(6), e0287217
Date: 06/2023
view details
Tennessee Rural Health Care Task Force: Improving Rural Health Care Across Tennessee
Report from the Tennessee Rural Health Care Task Force. Offers recommendations to the state in the areas of access to care, workforce development, and social drivers of health. Discusses rural health research and advocacy, health insurance, telemedicine, workforce training, grants and loans, and more.
Additional links: Summary
Author(s): Morgan McDonald, David Dill
Date: 06/2023
view details
NHPCO Pediatric Facts and Figure, 2023 Edition
Provides an overview of pediatric hospice and palliative care in the United States. Includes information and data on patient characteristics, access to care, reimbursement, barriers and facilitators to care, and more. Section 3 compares the number and percentage of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties with access to pediatric hospice and palliative care.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organizations: National Alliance for Care at Home, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
view details
'A Safe Place': Rural HIV Patients and Providers Fight Stigma, Isolation Through Connection
Reports on a variety of programs underway in rural areas for HIV prevention and treatment. Discusses the challenges and barriers, as well as strategies to address HIV in rural communities.
Author(s): Gretel Kauffman
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Rural Health on Life Support
Podcast episode discussing the effects of policy on rural maternal health outcomes and access to maternity care services. Covers the role of state policies, including Medicaid policies, on maternal and infant health.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Impact! Communications, Inc.
view details
Rural Health on Life Support - The State of America's Rural Health Systems
Podcast episode discussing the rural health landscape and how policies affect rural healthcare systems and service delivery. Covers rural hospital closures, payment policy, workforce concerns, emergency medical services (EMS), the Rural Emergency Hospital designation, and more.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Impact! Communications, Inc.
view details
Development and Evaluation of the Delivery-Based HEALED Produce Rx Program for Uninsured Patients With Diabetes in Rural Eastern North Carolina
A program evaluation brief that provides an overview of the Healthy Eating and Active Lifestyle to Enhance Diabetes management (HEALED) program that surveyed patients in 2019 and then delivered plant-based foods to 40 participants as a part of a produce prescription (PRx) program in 2021. Reports on how PRx programs and related resources such as cooking instructions can positively impact diabetes patients. Discusses the importance of performing a needs assessment, pilot programming, and a formative evaluation in rural and underserved programs to remove food access barriers such as lack of transportation and involve participants in their own wellness journeys.
Author(s): Lauren R. Sastre, Brandon Stroud, Elisa Smith, Khadijah Hendrix, Olivia McBride
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 20
Date: 06/2023
view details
Critical Access Hospitals: Views on How Medicare Payment and Other Factors Affect Behavioral Health Services
Provides an overview of Medicare payment policies for care provided by Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Explores how CAHs provide behavioral health services in their communities. Summarizes findings from interviews with officials from 10 CAHs, stakeholder organizations, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) regarding how Medicare payment policies and other factors affect CAHs' ability to provide behavioral health services.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
2023 Scorecard on State Health System Performance
Evaluates state health systems on a state-by-state basis. Enables comparison between state health systems across 58 measures, such as access and affordability, prevention and treatment, reproductive care and women's health, and racial and ethnic equity, among others.
Author(s): David C. Radley, Jesse C. Baumgartner, Sara R. Collins, Laurie C. Zephyrin
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
view details