Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy
Mental Health in Rural Areas
Policy position paper focused on mental health in rural areas. Discusses barriers and policy recommendations regarding the availability, access, and acceptability of mental health care in rural communities.
Author(s): Brenda Mack, Heather Whetsell, Janessa M. Graves
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Policy position paper focused on mental health in rural areas. Discusses barriers and policy recommendations regarding the availability, access, and acceptability of mental health care in rural communities.
Author(s): Brenda Mack, Heather Whetsell, Janessa M. Graves
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Providing Health Literate Virtual Health Services: Proceedings of a Workshop-in Brief
Summarizes 3 presentations and a panel discussion from a virtual public workshop held on September 23, 2021, by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Roundtable on Health Literacy, covering health-literate telehealth services. Discusses challenges and potential for health-literate telehealth, access, and resources available through the HRSA Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT).
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Population Health
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Summarizes 3 presentations and a panel discussion from a virtual public workshop held on September 23, 2021, by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Roundtable on Health Literacy, covering health-literate telehealth services. Discusses challenges and potential for health-literate telehealth, access, and resources available through the HRSA Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT).
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Population Health
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Public-Safety Broadband Network: Congressional Action Required to Ensure Network Continuity
Provides an overview of the implementation progress of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) public-safety broadband network, including network coverage in rural and non-rural areas as of March 2021. Reviews FirstNet's statutory requirements and contract responsibilities Congress should consider before FirstNet's authority sunsets in 2027. Explores options to oversee and manage the network when this authority sunsets, as well as the associated operational implications and potential costs.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Provides an overview of the implementation progress of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) public-safety broadband network, including network coverage in rural and non-rural areas as of March 2021. Reviews FirstNet's statutory requirements and contract responsibilities Congress should consider before FirstNet's authority sunsets in 2027. Explores options to oversee and manage the network when this authority sunsets, as well as the associated operational implications and potential costs.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Medicaid and Counties: Understanding the Program and Why It Matters to Counties
Discusses the importance of Medicaid in county-level healthcare. Describes the role Medicaid plays in financing and delivering healthcare for children, the elderly, the disabled, and rural residents. Highlights the impact of COVID-19 on the Medicaid program and challenges for county governments.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Counties
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Discusses the importance of Medicaid in county-level healthcare. Describes the role Medicaid plays in financing and delivering healthcare for children, the elderly, the disabled, and rural residents. Highlights the impact of COVID-19 on the Medicaid program and challenges for county governments.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Counties
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Outpatient Telehealth Use Soared Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic but Has since Receded
Brief examining outpatient telehealth visits from March 2019 to August 2021 based on a data set that includes over 126 million patients from 889 hospitals and 19,320 clinics nationwide. Covers changes in telehealth use during the pandemic, telehealth use by age group and sex, rural and urban rates of telehealth use, and telehealth use for management of chronic conditions. Discusses impacts on healthcare access, cost, quality, and outcomes, as well as policy implications.
Author(s): Justin Lo, Matthew Rae, Krutika Ann, Cynthia Cox
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organizations: KFF, Peterson Center on Healthcare
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Brief examining outpatient telehealth visits from March 2019 to August 2021 based on a data set that includes over 126 million patients from 889 hospitals and 19,320 clinics nationwide. Covers changes in telehealth use during the pandemic, telehealth use by age group and sex, rural and urban rates of telehealth use, and telehealth use for management of chronic conditions. Discusses impacts on healthcare access, cost, quality, and outcomes, as well as policy implications.
Author(s): Justin Lo, Matthew Rae, Krutika Ann, Cynthia Cox
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organizations: KFF, Peterson Center on Healthcare
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How States Can Expand Health Care Access in Rural Communities
Discusses policy options states could use to increase access to care and the supply of healthcare providers in rural areas. Covers financial assistance programs for medical and dental education; malpractice reform; scope of practice changes for advanced practice registered nurses, physician assistants, and dental health aide therapists; telemedicine parity; and mobile clinics.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Center for American Progress
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Discusses policy options states could use to increase access to care and the supply of healthcare providers in rural areas. Covers financial assistance programs for medical and dental education; malpractice reform; scope of practice changes for advanced practice registered nurses, physician assistants, and dental health aide therapists; telemedicine parity; and mobile clinics.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Center for American Progress
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Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking Final Report
Reports on synthetic drug trafficking in the U.S., including the challenges for law enforcement, need for updated drug policy, and surveillance and data analysis concerns. Discusses public health considerations and challenges for reducing the demand for drugs via treatment. Technical Appendixes include rural references throughout, and Figure B.5 shows opioid-involved overdose deaths by Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) for 2000-2019.
Additional links: Technical Appendixes
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organizations: Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, RAND Corporation, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Treasury, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate
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Reports on synthetic drug trafficking in the U.S., including the challenges for law enforcement, need for updated drug policy, and surveillance and data analysis concerns. Discusses public health considerations and challenges for reducing the demand for drugs via treatment. Technical Appendixes include rural references throughout, and Figure B.5 shows opioid-involved overdose deaths by Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) for 2000-2019.
Additional links: Technical Appendixes
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organizations: Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, RAND Corporation, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Treasury, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate
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Chartis Center for Rural Health Research & Resources for the 2022 National Rural Health Association's Rural Health Policy Institute Conference
Offers research and analysis of the stability of the rural healthcare safety net. Includes Pandemic Increases Pressure on Rural Hospitals & Communities: Vulnerability, Health Inequity and Staffing Crisis Amplified in Pandemic's Third Year and presentation slides on this report from the 2022 National Rural Health Association Policy Institute. Provides links to national and state data tables showing the financial impact of federal policies on rural hospitals.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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Offers research and analysis of the stability of the rural healthcare safety net. Includes Pandemic Increases Pressure on Rural Hospitals & Communities: Vulnerability, Health Inequity and Staffing Crisis Amplified in Pandemic's Third Year and presentation slides on this report from the 2022 National Rural Health Association Policy Institute. Provides links to national and state data tables showing the financial impact of federal policies on rural hospitals.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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Pandemic Increases Pressure on Rural Hospitals & Communities: Vulnerability, Health Inequity and Staffing Crisis Amplified in Pandemic's Third Year
Examines the stability of the rural healthcare safety net. Discusses disparities between rural and urban communities and communities with hospitals vulnerable to closure. Describes the benefits of COVID-19 relief funding on rural hospitals and how scheduled reimbursement cuts and staffing shortages could impact hospitals' financial stability. Also discusses how staffing shortages impact access to obstetrics and chemotherapy care in rural areas.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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Examines the stability of the rural healthcare safety net. Discusses disparities between rural and urban communities and communities with hospitals vulnerable to closure. Describes the benefits of COVID-19 relief funding on rural hospitals and how scheduled reimbursement cuts and staffing shortages could impact hospitals' financial stability. Also discusses how staffing shortages impact access to obstetrics and chemotherapy care in rural areas.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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The Problem Of The Color Line: Spatial Access To Hospital Services For Minoritized Racial And Ethnic Groups
Study examining healthcare access by race and geography, covering distances to hospital services for minoritized ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZTCAs). Discusses factors that lead to disparities in access for rural minority communities, including policy, rural hospital closures, and safety-net program issues.
Additional links: Story Map: The Problem Of The Color Line
Author(s): Jan M. Eberth, Peiyin Hung, Gabriel A. Benavidez, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs, 41(2), 237-246
Date: 02/2022
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Study examining healthcare access by race and geography, covering distances to hospital services for minoritized ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZTCAs). Discusses factors that lead to disparities in access for rural minority communities, including policy, rural hospital closures, and safety-net program issues.
Additional links: Story Map: The Problem Of The Color Line
Author(s): Jan M. Eberth, Peiyin Hung, Gabriel A. Benavidez, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs, 41(2), 237-246
Date: 02/2022
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