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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance

California State Health Care Innovation Plan
Describes California's plan to reform their healthcare system to meet the Triple Aim of better health, better healthcare, and lower costs. Discusses the proposed payment and delivery system initiatives supporting team-based care with a focus on maternity care, health homes, palliative care, and accountable care communities. Addresses the needed building blocks to support health, healthcare transformation, and payment reform including workforce training, health information technology technical assistance and research, development of cost and quality reporting systems, and payment reform.
Additional links: Appendices
Date: 03/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: California Health and Human Services Agency
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Compendium of Priority Recommendations: March 2014
Annual report identifying the top 25 unimplemented recommendations from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) that, in OIG's view, would have the most substantial positive impact on Health and Human Services (HHS) programs. Positive impact may refer to cost savings, program efficacy and efficiency, and/or quality improvement. Primary areas of interest in the March 2014 edition include: improving quality assurance programs in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and updating location requirements and conditions of participation for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).
Date: 03/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2014
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Discussions of rural aspects of Medicare payment policies are included throughout the report.
Date: 03/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Health Insurance Coverage of Low-Income Rural Children Increases and Is More Continuous Following CHIP Implementation
Compares insurance coverage of low-income children before and after the passage of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), with rural/urban comparisons. Addresses the uninsurance rate and health insurance continuity for low-income children in rural areas over time using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
Author(s): Erika C. Ziller
Date: 03/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Strategies for Behavioral Health Organizations to Promote New Health Insurance Opportunities: In American Indian and Alaska Native Communities
Provides examples of successful outreach and enrollment strategies for organizations to use when introducing health insurance options to American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
Date: 03/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Seizing the Opportunity: Early Medicaid Health Home Lessons
Compiles findings and discussion from states who were early adopters of health homes in urban and rural settings. Provides recommendations for states wanting to develop health home programs.
Author(s): Kathy Moses, Brianna Ensslin
Date: 03/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Medicaid Expansion and Premium Assistance: The Importance of Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) to Coordinated Care for Chronically Ill Patients
Discusses the importance and benefits of Medicaid and non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) for patients accessing life sustaining healthcare services. Covers patients impacted by limited transportation options prevalent in rural areas.
Date: 03/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Community Transportation Association of America
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Rural/Urban Differences in Inpatient Related Costs and Use among Medicare Beneficiaries
Compares inpatient costs for Medicare beneficiaries admitted to rural versus urban hospitals. Also examines 30- and 60-day readmission rates by hospital location and beneficiary residence, adjusted for beneficiary rural status, health status, and sociodemographic characteristics.
Author(s): Matthew Toth, Mark Holmes, Victoria A. Freeman, George H. Pink
Date: 03/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Rural Implications of Medicaid Expansion under the Affordable Care Act
Report discusses how ACA Medicaid expansion will meet the distinctive needs of rural residents. Using 2007-2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data and data from state Medicaid policies and primary care providers, this report examines rural-urban differences in patient populations, reviews previous public health insurance programs affecting rural populations, and considers the availability of healthcare access in rural areas.
Author(s): Erika Ziller, Jennifer Lenardson, Andrew Coburn
Date: 02/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: State Health Access Reform Evaluation
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Colorado's Primary Care Workforce: A Study of Regional Disparities
Analyzes the primary care workforce across Colorado in 2014, including rural and underserved urban areas. Covers solutions to address the healthcare workforce capacity. Provides statistics for 21 health regions in Colorado on practicing primary care physicians, population, average weekly patient care hours per physician, and more.
Author(s): Amy Downs, Rebecca Alderfer, Brian Clark, Rebecca Crepin, Deborah Goeken
Date: 02/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Colorado Health Institute
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