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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Legislation and regulations

CMS Has Yet to Enforce a Statutory Provision Related to Rural Health Clinics
A study to determine the extent to which Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) no longer meet the location requirements. Also discusses whether the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken steps to address a prior Office of Inspector General recommendation to issue regulations defining the criteria for RHCs to be deemed "essential providers."
Date: 09/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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American Indian Health Policy: Historical Trends and Contemporary Issues
Discusses the past, present, and future development of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) health policy. Identifies federal policy and legislation affecting Indian Health Service (IHS) funding and other federal funding that supports the healthcare received by AI/AN populations.
Author(s): Donald Warne, Linda Bane Frizzell
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 104(Suppl 3), 263–267
Date: 06/2014
Type: Document
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The Public Health Foundation of Health Services for American Indians & Alaska Natives
Documents the transformation and assimilation of community and public health programs providing federal healthcare services for American Indians/Alaska Natives from the 1800s to present time.
Author(s): Everett R. Rhoades, Dorothy A. Rhoades
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 104(Suppl 3), S278-S285
Date: 06/2014
Type: Document
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Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System for FQHCs; Changes to Contracting Policies for RHCs; and Changes to Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 Enforcement Actions for Proficiency Testing Referral
The final rule with comment period that implements the methodology and payment rates for a prospective payment system (PPS) for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) services beginning October 1, 2014, under Medicare Part B, in compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Identifies the policy allowing Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) to contract with nonphysician practitioners when statutory requirements for employment of nurse practitioners and physician assistants are met, and incorporated other technical changes to FQHC and RHC regulations. Changes to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 enforcement actions for proficiency testing referral are included.
Date: 05/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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The Affordable Care Act and Insurance Coverage in Rural Areas
Examines differences in urban and rural populations and health insurance coverage patterns and assesses how ACA coverage reforms will affect rural and metropolitan areas in different ways.
Author(s): Vann Newkirk, Anthony Damico
Date: 05/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Early Impacts of Dental Therapists in Minnesota
Evaluates the impact of dental therapists on the delivery of and access to oral health services in Minnesota from 2009 through 2014. Includes a rural and urban comparison on the effects of dental therapists on patient wait times and distances traveled for dental appointments.
Date: 02/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Minnesota Department of Health - Office of Rural Health and Primary Care
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Indian Health Care: Impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
Summarizes key changes made in the re-authorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA), including the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions related to American Indians and Alaska Natives enrolled in and receiving services from Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Date: 01/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Not Enough Primary-Care Doctors? Try Missouri's Prescription
Describes how medical school graduates are legally allowed to work as assistant physicians in rural and underserved areas of Missouri without having completed a residency program. Discusses legislation that allows medical school graduates to become practicing assistant physicians and practice requirements.
Author(s): Arthur L. Caplan
Citation: Missouri Medicine, 111(6), 474-475
Date: 2014
Type: Document
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Migrant Health Newsline: Commemorative Issue
Final and commemorative issue examining the migrant health movement in the U.S. Includes reprints of past articles about the history of migrant health, the creation of the Migrant Health Program, the Migrant Health Act, and other legislation increasing access to healthcare for migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
Date: 2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Farmworker Health
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Unfinished Harvest: The Agricultural Worker Protection Act at 30
Discusses the impacts of the 1983 Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (AWPA) on farmworkers' health, safety, housing, and more. Examines the law's historical and legislative background, interpreting court case provisions, and includes insights from leading farmworker advocates around the country.
Author(s): Megan Horn, Nicholas Marritz
Date: 12/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Farmworker Justice Fund, Inc.
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