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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health insurance

The Rural Emergency Hospital and Value-Based Care
Summarizes the new Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) legislation, outlines local considerations before REH conversion, and prepares stakeholders to comment when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services releases REH proposed rules for public input. Addresses questions regarding anticipated proposed rules and describes opportunities to inform REH rulemaking.
Date: 08/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Delta Region Community Health Systems Development (DRCHSD) Program: 340B Drug Pricing Program Guide
Provides rural hospital administrators with information regarding the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Offers State Offices of Rural Health (SORHs) directors and Flex Program coordinators a better understanding of the process hospitals must abide by to participate in the 340B Program.
Author(s): BKD CPAs & Advisors
Date: 08/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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A Cross-Sectional Analysis of High Acuity Professional Services Performed by Urban and Rural Emergency Care Physicians Across the United States
Evaluates high acuity service practices between 34,256 metropolitan and nonmetropolitan physicians offering emergency care to Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. Discusses rural-specific factors that may contribute to disparities.
Author(s): Cameron J. Gettel, Maureen E. Canavan, Margaret B. Greenwood-Ericksen, et al.
Citation: Annals of Emergency Medicine: An International Journal 78(1), 140-149
Date: 07/2021
Type: Document
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Advancing Integrated Care for Dually Eligible Individuals: Factors Influencing State D-SNP Contracting Decisions
Presents results of a study on factors that influence states' use of a variety of Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNP) contracting strategies to facilitate the integration of Medicare and Medicaid benefits. Discusses factors influencing state adoption of D-SNP contracting strategies, barriers to D-SNP contracting in rural areas, and benefits and challenges of adoption 11 specific contracting strategies.
Additional links: Issue Brief
Author(s): Erin Weir Lakhmani, Danielle Chelminsky, Alena Tourtellotte, et al.
Date: 07/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Mathematica
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Diabetes-Related Inpatient Stays, 2018
Brief examining nonmaternal inpatient stays related to type 1 and type 2 diabetes based on 2018 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) data. Presents distribution of inpatient stays by age, gender, insurance status, income, race and ethnicity, and metro and rural location.
Author(s): Kathryn R. Fingar, Lawrence D. Reid
Date: 07/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project
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Medicaid and Housing Partnerships: A Resource for Local Health Departments
Explores how local health departments (LHDs) in rural areas can utilize Medicaid managed care levers to address homelessness and housing security issues. Summarizes results from a gap analysis and readiness assessment which identified key opportunities to help prepare three LHDs in rural North Carolina counties for the transition to Medicaid-managed care. Identifies action steps for these counties to strengthen housing supports that can also inform similar initiatives in other states.
Author(s): Matthew Ralls, Kathy Moses, Rob Houston
Date: 07/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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State Medicaid Telehealth Policies Before and During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
Examines state Medicaid telehealth coverage, policies, and utilization before and after the COVID-19 public health emergency. Discusses issues and opportunities for optimizing telehealth, including equity considerations for rural and lower-income communities.
Author(s): Rose C. Chu, Christie Peters, Nancy De Lew, Benjamin D. Sommers
Date: 07/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Rural Communities at Risk: Widening Health Disparities Present New Challenges in Aftermath of Pandemic
Describes the health status, health disparities, and socioeconomic disparities of vulnerable rural communities. Analyzes the relationship between rural community vulnerability and the stability of the rural health safety net. Includes information on racial health disparities within rural communities.
Date: 07/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: The Chartis Group
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Access to Affordable Care in Rural America: Current Trends and Key Challenges
Describes geographic and demographic challenges that contribute to healthcare access and health disparities in rural areas. Covers patterns of insurance coverage between rural and urban areas, healthcare provider shortages, and rural hospital vulnerability and closures. Discusses programs and services supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reduce barriers to care in rural communities, including telehealth, healthcare workforce programs, and Rural Health Clinics and community health centers.
Author(s): Gina Turrini, D.Keith Branham, Lucy Chen, et al.
Date: 07/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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How Many Hospitals Might Convert to a Rural Emergency Hospital (REH)?
Results of a study to predict the number of rural hospitals with 50 beds or fewer that are likely to consider conversion to Rural Emergency Hospital designation under the Medicare program. Features statistics on number and percent of complete closures and converted closures between 2011-2020 among hospitals with 50 beds or fewer, and open hospitals as of 2019-2020, with breakdowns by financial measures, operational measures, Medicare payment type, and census division.
Author(s): George H. Pink, Kristie W. Thompson, H. Ann Howard, G. Mark Holmes
Date: 07/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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