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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance

The Implications of Using Maternity Care Deserts to Measure Progress in Access to Obstetric Care: A Mixed-Integer Optimization Analysis
Compares geographic access to critical care obstetric (CCO) services in Georgia via a county-level maternal care desert model versus a model of census blocks further than 50 miles from CCO services. Uses each model to estimate how expansion of facilities would affect access to care, and also to estimate race and ethnicity, insurance status, age, and poverty rate of reproductive-aged women with limited access to care using 2017 American Community Survey data.
Author(s): Meghan E. Meredith, Lauren N. Steimle, Stephanie M. Radke
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 24, 682
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
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Pandemic-Era Trends in Telehealth Use among Americans with Private Health Insurance
Brief analyzing telehealth use between 2019 and 2021 for people younger than 65 with private health insurance. Discusses the impact of COVID-19 on telehealth use. Analyzes data by various factors such as age, rurality, access, broadband availability, and more. Discusses policy implications related to broadband access, mental healthcare provider shortages, costs, access, and equity. Includes both nationwide and state-by-state rural and urban comparisons.
Author(s): Beth Carter, Olivia Dean, Alex Hartzman, Luis Arzaluz, Aiden Wynia
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: AARP Public Policy Institute
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CMS Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced Model: Fifth Annual Evaluation Report
Fifth annual report of the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI Advanced) Model, which tests whether linking payments for a clinical episode of care can reduce Medicare expenditures while maintaining or improving the quality of care. Explores the impact of BPCI Advanced on episode payments, utilization, and quality of care, as well as estimates of Medicare program savings in Model Year 4. Describes changes to the model that were implemented in Model Year 4 and how BPCI Advanced relates to Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). Analyzes BPCI Advanced outcomes for beneficiaries from populations that have been historically underserved. Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Appendices, Executive Summary, Findings at a Glance
Author(s): The Lewin Group, Abt Associates, GDIT, Telligen
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Senate Finance Committee Bipartisan Medicare GME Working Group Draft Proposal Outline and Questions for Consideration
Outlines draft policy proposals regarding the Medicare Graduate Medical Education (GME) program aimed at addressing healthcare workforce shortages. Proposals cover the distribution of Medicare GME slots to rural areas and key specialties, encouraging hospitals to train physicians in rural areas, the establishment of a Medicare GME Policy Council, GME data collection and transparency, and more. Includes questions for consideration on policies under consideration.
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Finance
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Payment System for Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities for FY 2025
Comment on an April 3, 2024, Federal Register proposed rule revising the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Prospective Payment System (IPF PPS) for fiscal year 2025. Includes a discussion of rural IPF PPS payment adjustments.
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Rural Health Network Development Planning Program: 2023 Grantee Directory
Detailed descriptions of 36 Rural Health Network Development Planning Program grant projects funded in fiscal year 2023. Lists grantees by organization type and focus area, including topics such as network organization and infrastructure development, increasing health system efficiencies, behavioral health, and telehealth. Includes grantee profiles describing their programs and network structures, geographic areas served, network partners, and contacts for each network.
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
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A Closer Look at the Final Nursing Facility Rule and Which Facilities Might Meet New Staffing Requirements
Summarizes new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services's (CMS) nurse staffing requirements for nursing facilities outlined in the April 22, 2024, final rule. Analyzes Nursing Home Compare data from April 2024, which reflects nursing home staffing levels from December 2023, to explore the percentage of facilities that meet each of the new nurse staffing requirements. Presents data by nursing ownership status, rural and urban location, special focus facility status, and state.
Author(s): Priya Chidambaram, Alice Burns, Tricia Neuman, Robin Rudowitz
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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A Picture of the Loss of Rural Obstetrical Service in Alabama 1980 to 2024
County-level maps showing counties with hospitals offering obstetrical service in 1980 and those offering service as of May 2024.
Date: 05/2024
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: Alabama Office of Primary Care and Rural Health
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State Innovations to Advance Respite Care: Policy Strategies Shared at the State-Federal Respite Summit
Presents strategies utilized by states to improve access to and quality of respite care services for family caregivers. Strategies cover awareness and outreach, respite workforce education, and serving diverse populations. Highlights strategies from Colorado, North Dakota, and Oklahoma focused on rural areas.
Author(s): Kimberly Hodges, Ella Taggart, Salom Teshale
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
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Examining the Dental Care Crisis in America: How Can We Make Dental Care More Affordable and More Available?
Recording of a May 16, 2024, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions hearing on the accessibility and affordability of dental care, including in rural areas. Features testimony from the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health.
Additional links: Myechia Minter-Jordan, CareQuest Institute for Oral Health - Testimony
Date: 05/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
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