Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy
U.S. Health Care Expenditures: Costs, Lessons, and Opportunities
Summarizes a March 15-16, 2021, workshop exploring issues related to increasing healthcare spending in the United States. Provides an overview of the scope of healthcare spending in the United States, innovations implemented to address spending, and the role of research in policy change. Includes information on rural payment models.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 2022
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Summarizes a March 15-16, 2021, workshop exploring issues related to increasing healthcare spending in the United States. Provides an overview of the scope of healthcare spending in the United States, innovations implemented to address spending, and the role of research in policy change. Includes information on rural payment models.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 2022
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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The National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality: Honoring Our Commitment to Residents, Families, and Staff
Examines how the United States delivers, finances, regulates, and measures the quality of nursing home care. Discusses the nursing home care landscape, quality measurement and improvement, workforce, safety, payment and financing, and health information technology. Identifies seven goals and supporting recommendations that provide a framework for a comprehensive approach to improving the quality of care in nursing homes.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Health Care Services
Date: 2022
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Examines how the United States delivers, finances, regulates, and measures the quality of nursing home care. Discusses the nursing home care landscape, quality measurement and improvement, workforce, safety, payment and financing, and health information technology. Identifies seven goals and supporting recommendations that provide a framework for a comprehensive approach to improving the quality of care in nursing homes.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Health Care Services
Date: 2022
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Experiences of Health Centers in Implementing Telehealth Visits for Underserved Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results from the Connected Care Accelerator Initiative
Offers an analysis of telehealth implementation in safety net settings with a focus on Federally Qualified Health Centers based on health center-provided telehealth visit data from February 2019-August 2021, as well as interviews with leadership and staff. Covers trends in telehealth use in health centers that participate in the California Health Care Foundation's Connected Care Accelerator initiative, the perceptions of health center leaders and staff, and implications for future policy, practice, and investigation.
Author(s): Lori Uscher-Pines, Natasha Arora, Maggie Jones, et al.
Date: 2022
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
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Offers an analysis of telehealth implementation in safety net settings with a focus on Federally Qualified Health Centers based on health center-provided telehealth visit data from February 2019-August 2021, as well as interviews with leadership and staff. Covers trends in telehealth use in health centers that participate in the California Health Care Foundation's Connected Care Accelerator initiative, the perceptions of health center leaders and staff, and implications for future policy, practice, and investigation.
Author(s): Lori Uscher-Pines, Natasha Arora, Maggie Jones, et al.
Date: 2022
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
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The Rural Health Safety Net Under Pressure: Understanding the Potential Impact of COVID-19
Examines the stability of the rural health safety net at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Outlines key factors that will influence the impact of COVID-19 on rural healthcare, including access to intensive care unit beds, outpatient service revenues, and rural provider days cash on hand. Highlights provisions of the CARES Act aimed at mitigating the impact of the pandemic on rural hospitals.
Date: 2022
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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Examines the stability of the rural health safety net at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Outlines key factors that will influence the impact of COVID-19 on rural healthcare, including access to intensive care unit beds, outpatient service revenues, and rural provider days cash on hand. Highlights provisions of the CARES Act aimed at mitigating the impact of the pandemic on rural hospitals.
Date: 2022
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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Ending Surprise Medical Bills
Offers resources for healthcare providers and consumers regarding surprise billing regulations and policies. Includes information on payment dispute resolution between patients and providers, and between providers and out-of-network health plans.
Date: 2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Offers resources for healthcare providers and consumers regarding surprise billing regulations and policies. Includes information on payment dispute resolution between patients and providers, and between providers and out-of-network health plans.
Date: 2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Expanding Pharmacists' Prescriptive Authority: Options for Reform
Explores why states may want to consider expanding pharmacists' prescriptive authority. Presents state policy options for expanding prescriptive authority for pharmacists, including advantages and disadvantages of each and examples from states. Also addresses potential concerns about the increased prescriptive authority of pharmacists.
Author(s): James Broughel, Elise Amez-Droz
Date: 12/2021
Sponsoring organization: Mercatus Center
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Explores why states may want to consider expanding pharmacists' prescriptive authority. Presents state policy options for expanding prescriptive authority for pharmacists, including advantages and disadvantages of each and examples from states. Also addresses potential concerns about the increased prescriptive authority of pharmacists.
Author(s): James Broughel, Elise Amez-Droz
Date: 12/2021
Sponsoring organization: Mercatus Center
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ASTHO Legislative Prospectus: Rural Health
Discusses legislative trends to support rural healthcare access and facilities. Includes information on developing loan repayment programs for medical providers in rural areas, supporting behavioral healthcare, expanding telehealth, and creating broadband infrastructure.
Date: 12/2021
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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Discusses legislative trends to support rural healthcare access and facilities. Includes information on developing loan repayment programs for medical providers in rural areas, supporting behavioral healthcare, expanding telehealth, and creating broadband infrastructure.
Date: 12/2021
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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State Policy Changes Could Increase Access to Opioid Treatment via Telehealth
Issue brief discussing barriers to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment via telehealth and policy recommendations to support telehealth, including reimbursement and regulatory policies. Discusses issues of broadband access, infrastructure, and data collection in relation to telehealth implementation.
Date: 12/2021
Sponsoring organization: Pew
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Issue brief discussing barriers to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment via telehealth and policy recommendations to support telehealth, including reimbursement and regulatory policies. Discusses issues of broadband access, infrastructure, and data collection in relation to telehealth implementation.
Date: 12/2021
Sponsoring organization: Pew
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Successful Implementation of the Healthy Diné Nation Act in Stores on the Navajo Nation
Highlights a study evaluating the implementation of the Healthy Diné Nation Act (HDNA), which adds a 2% tax on unhealthy foods and a 5% tax waiver for healthy foods in the grocery stores, training posts, and convenience stores across the Navajo Nation. Breaks down a timeline of the implementation process and the results from Navajo Nation stores.
Author(s): Carmen George, Carolyn Bancroft, Shine Salt, et al.
Citation: Preventive Medicine Reports, 24, 101573
Date: 12/2021
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Highlights a study evaluating the implementation of the Healthy Diné Nation Act (HDNA), which adds a 2% tax on unhealthy foods and a 5% tax waiver for healthy foods in the grocery stores, training posts, and convenience stores across the Navajo Nation. Breaks down a timeline of the implementation process and the results from Navajo Nation stores.
Author(s): Carmen George, Carolyn Bancroft, Shine Salt, et al.
Citation: Preventive Medicine Reports, 24, 101573
Date: 12/2021
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Medicare and Beneficiaries Pay More for Preadmission Services at Affiliated Hospitals Than at Wholly Owned Settings
Provides an overview of the Medicare diagnosis-related group (DRG) window policy. Examines how much Medicare and Medicare beneficiaries paid affiliated settings, including Critical Access Hospitals, for admission-related outpatient services in 2019 that would have otherwise been covered by the DRG policy at wholly-owned hospitals. Offers recommendations to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for updating the DRG policy.
Date: 12/2021
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Provides an overview of the Medicare diagnosis-related group (DRG) window policy. Examines how much Medicare and Medicare beneficiaries paid affiliated settings, including Critical Access Hospitals, for admission-related outpatient services in 2019 that would have otherwise been covered by the DRG policy at wholly-owned hospitals. Offers recommendations to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for updating the DRG policy.
Date: 12/2021
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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