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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance

MedPAC Payment Basics
Series of briefs providing an of Medicare payment systems. Covers payments systems including Accountable Care Organizations (ACO), Critical Access Hospitals (CAH), Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics, hospital acute inpatient services, and more.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) 2021-2022: A Demographic and Employment Profile of United States Crop Workers
Reports on demographic and employment characteristics of hired agricultural workers in the United States. Includes data on health insurance and healthcare access, as well as information on social determinants of health such as income, education level, language skills, housing, and digital device access. Based on data collected from face-to-face interviews with 2,598 crop farmworkers conducted between September 29, 2020 and October 1, 2022.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Labor
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Sociodemographic Inequities in Telemedicine Use Among US Patients Initiating Treatment in Community Cancer Centers During the Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2022
Evaluates demographic factors associated with use of telehealth within 90 days after starting cancer treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, utilizing March 2020-March 2023 data of 36,993 cancer patients. Includes data on telehealth inequities by race and ethnicity, insurance, socioeconomic status, rurality, and more.
Author(s): Jenny S. Guadamuz, Xiaoliang Wang, Trevor J. Royce, Gregory S. Calip
Citation: JCO Oncology Practice, 19(12), 1206-1214
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
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Exploring Patient Care Navigation in the Medicare Program
Presents an overview of patient navigation programs through an environmental scan of literature published between 2013 and 2023 and discussions with key informants at four healthcare organizations. Describes the variety of patient navigation services, types of patients targeted, settings that offer navigation services, staffing, funding, clinical outcomes, and more. Includes a brief discussion of programs targeting patients in rural areas. Identifies implementation and policy considerations and potential barriers to supporting patient navigation services.
Additional links: Annex, Executive Summary
Author(s): Zachary Predmore, Joachim Hero, Stephanie Dellva, et al.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, RAND Health Care
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Environmental Scan on Encouraging Rural Participation in Population-Based TCOC Models
Presents results of an environmental scan regarding population-based total cost of care (PB-TCOC) payment models and encouraging rural participation in these models. Describes challenges affecting rural patients and providers; opportunities for alternative payment models (APMs) and PB-TCOC models to address challenges in rural areas; trends in rural providers' participation in APMs; driving care delivery transformation in rural providers, including models that include or target rural participants in their model designs; leveraging financial incentives to improve rural health care; adoption and use of health information technology, including telehealth and data analytics among rural providers; and the measurement of rural providers' performance in APMs.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Sustaining Essential Rural Health Services Through Changes in Payment and Related Public Policies
Presentation slides that discuss payment policies and models, Medicare and Medicaid, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), commercial plans, value-based care, and more, with data and maps illustrating impacts in specific areas.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller
Date: 09/2023
Type: Presentation Slides
Sponsoring organizations: Iowa Department of Health Management and Policy, Rural Policy Research Institute
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Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design Model Phase II: Second Annual Evaluation Report
Presents findings from an evaluation of Phase II of the Medicare Advantage (MA) Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Model, which allows participating MA parent organizations to offer supplemental benefits and incentives to beneficiaries, hospice benefits, and wellness and healthcare planning through their MA plans. Summarizes findings from interviews with representatives of participating MA organizations, in-network and out-of-network hospices, and beneficiaries. Covers MA organization and beneficiary implementation experiences, plan enrollment, quality of care, health outcomes, and more, for the VBID Model generally and for the VBID Hospice Benefit Component.
Additional links: Appendices, Findings at a Glance, Hospice Benefit Component Findings at a Glance
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RAND Corporation
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New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department 2023-2024 Annual Progress and Services Plan (APSR)
Reports on progress made towards outcomes in the areas of child welfare services, early childhood services, behavioral health services, and juvenile justice services. Addresses issues specific to rural areas, collaboration with tribes in the state, and coordination with the state Medicaid system for the behavioral and physical health needs of children, families, and youth in New Mexico.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services Meeting Summary, Colorado Springs, Colorado, September 6-8, 2023
Summarizes the 93nd meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS), which was held in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Presents an overview of national and state perspectives on disability and independence in rural communities.
Additional links: Lincoln County Human Services Site Visit Summary
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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September 2023 MACPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission's (MACPAC) September 2023 meeting. Covers managed care denials and appeals, Medicaid demographic data collection, the unwinding of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement, the MACPAC hospital supplemental payment work plan, a review of the proposed rule on nursing facility staffing and payment transparency, and school-based behavioral health services for students enrolled in Medicaid, among other things. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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