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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health insurance

2023 Physician Fee Schedule Update
Webinar recording discusses the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Calendar Year (CY) 2023 Physician Fee Schedule and highlights how the policy changes around behavioral health and telehealth services may affect rural communities. Features presentations from representatives of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the CMS Center for Medicare, Hospital and Ambulatory Policy Group, Division of Ambulatory Services.
Additional links: Audio Recording, Webinar Slides, Webinar Transcript
Date: 12/2022
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Virginia Community Services Boards Behavioral Health Services: 2022
Report on activities of Virginia's Community Services Boards (CSBs), the state's primary mechanism for providing publicly funded behavioral health services in local communities. Includes a section on CSBs' role in providing services to rural areas. Features statistics on numbers of substance use disorder and mental health consumers, with breakdowns by urban and rural CSBs.
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission
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Roles of Race and Residence on the Incidence of Sexually Transmitted Infections in South Carolina: Improving STD Prevention and Care Through Partnerships
Slides that depict information from two presentations. The first explores the associations of race and rurality in relationship to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among Medicaid beneficiaries in South Carolina. Utilizes South Carolina Medicaid administrative claims data from 2019 to 2021 to examine STI and HIV incidence with data broken down by age, gender, race/ethnicity, comorbidity index, urban versus rural location, and county. The second analyzes the need to provide STI care in primary health clinics and reports on case studies from 4 rural clinics who discuss a gap in STI screening and treatment as well as barriers such as workforce capacity, structural issues, and stigma.
Author(s): Elizabeth Crouch, Theodoros V. Giannouchos, Melinda A. Merrell
Date: 12/2022
Type: Presentation Slides
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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Evaluation of the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration: Interim Report Two (Covering 2016-2018)
Provides an overview of the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration (RCHD). Describes the characteristics of RCHD participants as of fiscal year 2018, the Medicare payments received under the program, and the impact of the RCHD on hospital financial measures. Examines whether hospitals that continued to participate in the RCHD under the 21st Century Cures Act (CCA) extension experienced additional changes to their financial condition, as well as the impact of the program on hospitals that joined the demonstration for the first time under the CCA extension.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: American Institutes for Research, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Public Law 117–328: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023
Text of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, Public Law 117-328 (December 29, 2022). Section 4113 extends certain COVID-19 telehealth flexibilities, including the ability of Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers to serve as distant site providers, through December 31, 2024. Section 4137 authorizes the extension of a 1% add-on payment for home health services provided in high-utilization rural counties through 2023.
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Congress
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December 2022 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) December 2022 meeting. Covers payment adequacy and updates for hospital inpatient and outpatient services and supporting Medicare safety-net hospitals, ambulatory surgical center services, outpatient dialysis services, physician and other health professional services, hospice services, skilled nursing facilities, home health services, and inpatient rehabilitation facility services. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Experiences with Health Care Access, Cost, and Coverage: Findings from the 2022 KFF Women's Health Survey
Presents findings from the 2022 KFF Women's Health Survey of 5,145 women ages 18-64 who were asked about their health status, use of prescription medications, accessibility to healthcare, their selected care sites, check-ups, use of telemedicine, and health coverage and costs. Includes data on telehealth services provided by urban and rural location.
Author(s): Michelle Long, Brittni Frederiksen, Usha Ranji Alina Salganicoff, Karen Diep
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Access and Coverage for Mental Health Care: Findings from the 2022 KFF Women's Health Survey
Presents data from the national 2022 KFF Women's Health Survey of 5,145 women and 1,225 men ages 18-64 where respondents were asked about their experiences in obtaining mental health services, including the use of telehealth, over the past two years. Data is focused on the mental health service needs of women by age, race/ethnicity, income, insurance, and on rural and urban telehealth usage.
Author(s): Karen Diep, Brittni Frederiksen, Michelle Long, Usha Ranji, Alina Salganicoff
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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The Evolution of Hospital Designations and Payment in the U.S.: Implications for Rural Hospitals
Provides a history and overview of Medicare hospital payment polices as well as alternative payment models and their impact on rural facilities. Discusses the context in which rural hospitals serve patients, rural hospital payment provisions and designations, and current federal payment models that impact rural hospitals.
Author(s): Onyinye Oyeka, Clinton MacKinney, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Medicare: CMS Needs to Address Risks Posed by Provider Enrollment Waivers and Flexibilities
Report discusses the waivers and flexibilities in Medicare requirements that were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. Highlights how these waivers, such as fingerprint-based criminal background checks and revalidating provider eligibility, put Medicare at a high risk for fraud, waste, and abuse. Details how these waivers affect rural providers, as well.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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