Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy
Strengthening Health Care in the U.S. Territories for Today and Into the Future
Provides a hearing of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Health regarding healthcare issues in the U.S. territories with a focus on Medicaid. Addresses differences between state and territory Medicaid federal funding, health workforce shortages, the effects of recent hurricanes on healthcare, healthcare needs, prescription drug costs, and more. Includes testimony from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration, American Samoa State Agency, Guam Division of Public Welfare, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands State Medicaid Agency, and the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Human Services.
Additional links: Angela Avila Testimony, Maria Theresa Arcangel Testimony, Sandra King Young Testimony
Date: 06/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Health
view details
Provides a hearing of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Health regarding healthcare issues in the U.S. territories with a focus on Medicaid. Addresses differences between state and territory Medicaid federal funding, health workforce shortages, the effects of recent hurricanes on healthcare, healthcare needs, prescription drug costs, and more. Includes testimony from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration, American Samoa State Agency, Guam Division of Public Welfare, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands State Medicaid Agency, and the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Human Services.
Additional links: Angela Avila Testimony, Maria Theresa Arcangel Testimony, Sandra King Young Testimony
Date: 06/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Health
view details
In Support of Family Caregivers: A Snapshot of Five States
Examines policies developed in Washington, Minnesota, Hawaii, Tennessee, and Maine to support family caregivers, including those in rural areas. Features demographic characteristics of the states profiled, state expenditures by the Administration for Community Living in FY2016 on older adults and caregivers, and data on state Medicaid policies affecting these groups.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Jennifer Aufill, Julia Burgdorf, Jennifer Wolff
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Milbank Memorial Fund, The John A. Hartford Foundation
view details
Examines policies developed in Washington, Minnesota, Hawaii, Tennessee, and Maine to support family caregivers, including those in rural areas. Features demographic characteristics of the states profiled, state expenditures by the Administration for Community Living in FY2016 on older adults and caregivers, and data on state Medicaid policies affecting these groups.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Jennifer Aufill, Julia Burgdorf, Jennifer Wolff
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Milbank Memorial Fund, The John A. Hartford Foundation
view details
Serving Rural America: How Health Insurance Providers Break Down Barriers to Ensure Access to Care
Highlights healthcare challenges in the rural U.S. and provides examples of how health insurance providers have helped address those challenges through telehealth, remote patient monitoring, incentives for rural providers, payment models, and targeting the opioid epidemic. Offers recommendations for state and federal policymakers related to rural recruitment, telehealth, insurance affordability, and population health.
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: AHIP
view details
Highlights healthcare challenges in the rural U.S. and provides examples of how health insurance providers have helped address those challenges through telehealth, remote patient monitoring, incentives for rural providers, payment models, and targeting the opioid epidemic. Offers recommendations for state and federal policymakers related to rural recruitment, telehealth, insurance affordability, and population health.
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: AHIP
view details
Insurer Participation in Rural Health Insurance Marketplaces: Are Some Markets Intrinsically More Competitive Than Others?
Policy position brief reporting on analyses of insurer participation data in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, Medicare Advantage, and Health Insurance Marketplaces (HIMs). Assesses to what extent participation in HIMs may be associated with prior levels of local market competition. Includes statistics on prior market competition in low-population-density counties in 2014 and 2017, and county characteristics associated with low insurer participation, with comparisons between metro and nonmetro counties.
Author(s): Abigail R. Barker, Timothy D. McBride, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
view details
Policy position brief reporting on analyses of insurer participation data in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, Medicare Advantage, and Health Insurance Marketplaces (HIMs). Assesses to what extent participation in HIMs may be associated with prior levels of local market competition. Includes statistics on prior market competition in low-population-density counties in 2014 and 2017, and county characteristics associated with low insurer participation, with comparisons between metro and nonmetro counties.
Author(s): Abigail R. Barker, Timothy D. McBride, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
view details
Lower Health Care Costs Act
Recording of a U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing on the Lower Health Care Costs Act, which covers access to healthcare, surprise medical bills, market competition, drug prices, and other issues. Includes testimony from an organization that works primarily with small and rural practices, the American Hospital Association, American Enterprise Institute, and others.
Additional links: Benedic N. Ippolito Testimony, Sean Cavanaugh Testimony, Tom Nickels Testimony
Date: 06/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
view details
Recording of a U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing on the Lower Health Care Costs Act, which covers access to healthcare, surprise medical bills, market competition, drug prices, and other issues. Includes testimony from an organization that works primarily with small and rural practices, the American Hospital Association, American Enterprise Institute, and others.
Additional links: Benedic N. Ippolito Testimony, Sean Cavanaugh Testimony, Tom Nickels Testimony
Date: 06/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
view details
MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Skilled Nursing Facility PPS for FY 2020
Comments on an April 25, 2019, Federal Register proposed rule updating payments for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) and SNF quality reporting. Addresses proposed changes to the wage index system that would adjust for geographical differences, potentially impacting rural areas.
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Comments on an April 25, 2019, Federal Register proposed rule updating payments for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) and SNF quality reporting. Addresses proposed changes to the wage index system that would adjust for geographical differences, potentially impacting rural areas.
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on Hospice for FY 2020
Comments on an April 25, 2019, Federal Register proposed rule updating payments for hospice and hospice quality reporting. Addresses proposed changes to the wage index system that would adjust for geographical differences, potentially impacting rural areas.
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Comments on an April 25, 2019, Federal Register proposed rule updating payments for hospice and hospice quality reporting. Addresses proposed changes to the wage index system that would adjust for geographical differences, potentially impacting rural areas.
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility PPS for FY 2020
Comments on an April 24, 2019, Federal Register proposed rule updating payments for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs) and IRF quality reporting. Addresses proposed changes to the wage index system that would adjust for geographical differences, potentially impacting rural areas.
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Comments on an April 24, 2019, Federal Register proposed rule updating payments for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs) and IRF quality reporting. Addresses proposed changes to the wage index system that would adjust for geographical differences, potentially impacting rural areas.
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System, June 2019
Evaluates Medicare payment issues and offers recommendations to the U.S. Congress. Includes a chapter on access to primary care for Medicare beneficiaries that addresses rural access to care and programs supporting it, such as the National Health Service Corps. Other sections of the report addressing rural concerns focus on Medicare enrollment, changes in hospice and post-acute care after implementing the long-term care hospital dual payment-rate structure, and Medicare fee-for-service spending for emergency department services.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Evaluates Medicare payment issues and offers recommendations to the U.S. Congress. Includes a chapter on access to primary care for Medicare beneficiaries that addresses rural access to care and programs supporting it, such as the National Health Service Corps. Other sections of the report addressing rural concerns focus on Medicare enrollment, changes in hospice and post-acute care after implementing the long-term care hospital dual payment-rate structure, and Medicare fee-for-service spending for emergency department services.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Cost-Sharing as a Barrier to Accessing Care at FQHCs and RHCs for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
Results of a national study investigating cost barriers, using data acquired after enactment of the Affordable Care Act and viewed from perspectives other than ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations. Features statistics including descriptive data of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) from the study sample, with breakdowns by rural and urban location.
Author(s): Alex R. Schulte, George H. Pink, Mark Holmes, Denise Kirk
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
view details
Results of a national study investigating cost barriers, using data acquired after enactment of the Affordable Care Act and viewed from perspectives other than ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations. Features statistics including descriptive data of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) from the study sample, with breakdowns by rural and urban location.
Author(s): Alex R. Schulte, George H. Pink, Mark Holmes, Denise Kirk
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
view details