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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Income support and assistance

The 2024 State of Poverty in Ohio Report
Provides an overview of poverty in Ohio, with a focus on childhood poverty, family impacts, food security, healthcare access, and more. Includes county-level data on poverty rates, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)-approved vendors, and maternity care access.
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies
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National- and State-Level Estimates of WIC Eligibility and Program Reach in 2022: Final Report, Volume 1
Compares eligibility versus participation in Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits in 2022 using Community Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS-ASEC), American Community Survey (ACS), and National Vital Statistics data. Discusses trends over time for infants and pregnant women as well as by breastfeeding status, race and ethnicity, Medicaid participation, and urbanicity. Includes state and regional comparisons.
Additional links: Appendices, Summary
Author(s): Courtenay Kessler, Andrew Bryant, Kate Munkacsy, Kelsey Farson Gray
Date: 08/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Food and Nutrition Service
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Summer Food for Children: An Overview of Federal Aid
Provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Highlights changes to the SFSP made in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, including the permanent authorization of the nationwide Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (Summer EBT) Program for Children, and allowing Seamless Summer Option (SSO) sponsors to provide meals for off-site consumption to children in rural areas without access to congregate meal sites.
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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USDA Summer Food Program with Administrator for the Food and Nutrition Service, Cindy Long
Podcast episode featuring Cindy Long, Administrator for the the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). Discusses how the USDA FNS helps parents and caregivers raising families in rural and remote areas navigate nutrition assistance programs when school is out of session in the summer. Describes Summer Food Program eligibility and how to access program benefits.
Date: 06/2024
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Impact! Communications, Inc.
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Feeding MI Families: Michigan Families' Lived Experience of Food Access and Food Assistance
Reports on food insecurity for Michigan families including federal assistance programs, COVID related impacts, charitable and social programs, and the experiences of Hispanic, Upper Peninsula, and disabled residents. Includes recommendations for assistance programs. Discusses rural throughout, including rural and urban comparisons.
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Feeding MI Families, Michigan Farm Bureau, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
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The Future of Broadband Affordability
Presents a recording of a May 2, 2024, hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband. Describes federal approaches to increase broadband access and affordability. Discusses the state of broadband affordability programs, the impact of a potential lapse or end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and strategies to address shortfalls in broadband affordability programs.
Additional links: Blair Levin, New Street Research - Testimony, Jennifer Case Nevarez, Community Learning Network - Testimony, Kathryn de Wit, Pew Charitable Trusts - Testimony
Date: 05/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
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National Hospital Care Survey Demonstration Projects: Examination of Maternal Health Outcomes by Housing Assistance Status
Compares maternal health outcomes for patients receiving housing assistance to those who did not receive assistance using National Hospital Care Survey and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development linked data. Offers data breakdown by rurality of hospital location, health insurance coverage, maternal age, gestational age, delivery method, and length of hospital stay. Discusses possibilities for future use of linked data research.
Author(s): Josephine M. Alford, Lello Guluma, Doreen M. Gidali, Geoffrey Jackson
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Medicare Enrollees and the Part D Drug Benefit: Improving Financial Protection through the Low- Income Subsidy
Provides an overview of the Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) program, which covers some or all Part D drug costs. Presents estimates of number of Medicare Part D enrollees who received LIS in 2020 and their characteristics, as well as Medicare beneficiaries who did and did not have prescription drug coverage but who appear to be eligible for LIS based on income and resources. Compares Medicare enrollees demographic, financial, health status, and healthcare utilization characteristics, including rurality.
Author(s): Yevgeniy Feyman, Joel Ruhter, Kenneth Finegold, et al.
Date: 02/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Child Support Engagement in Rural and Non-Rural Counties: More Engagement and Lower Amount Owed in Rural Areas
Explores differences in engagement in child support for custodial parents living in rural and nonrural areas. Compares the percentage of different types of child support agreements, expected child support payments, and actual child support payments received by custodial parents between 2010 and 2018. Identifies opportunities for federal, state, and tribal agencies to better serve custodial parents and their children through the Title IV-D program and other services.
Author(s): Maretta McDonald, Robin Ghertner
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Do SNAP Eligibility and Benefit Determinations Sufficiently Reflect Expenses of Older Households?
Report investigating Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility guidelines to determine whether they are in line with the spending patterns of low-income households with adults over 50. Offers policy recommendations based on findings. Table 1 of the appendix compares the rural and urban share of total expenditures for these households.
Author(s): Olivia Dean, Joshua Leftin, Nicardo McInnis, Andrew Wen
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: AARP Public Policy Institute
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