Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

The Effects of Home Visiting on Prenatal Health, Birth Outcomes, and Health Care Use in the First Year of Life: Final Implementation and Impact Findings from the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation-Strong Start
Reports on the implementation and results of Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation-Strong Start (MIHOPE-Strong Start) on birth outcomes, prenatal health, and healthcare use. Addresses program characteristics, including metropolitan and nonmetropolitan location, program structure and services offered, and the program effects on infants and families.
Author(s): Helen Lee, Sarah Shea Crowne, Melanie Estarziau, et al.
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
view details
Impacts on Family Outcomes of Evidence-Based Early Childhood Home Visiting: Results from the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation
Evaluates the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program with a focus on the early effects of child and family outcomes. Covers maternal health, family economic self-sufficiency, child health and development, and more. Addresses challenges for including rural areas.
Author(s): Charles Michalopoulos, Kristen Faucetta, Carolyn J. Hill, et al.
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
view details
To Oversee or Not to Oversee? Lessons from the Repeal of North Carolina's Certificate of Public Advantage Law
Describes North Carolina's experience with its Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA) statute, which provided the state oversight on hospital mergers that could support continued access to care, particularly in rural areas. Focuses on the impact of the statute's repeal. Compares differences in North Carolina's COPA to Tennessee and Virginia's COPA laws, discussing the implications for rural populations.
Author(s): Erin C. Fuse Brown
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
view details
California's Behavioral Health Services Workforce is Inadequate for Older Adults
Describes gaps in California's behavioral health workforce that serves older adults and offers recommendations for addressing them. Highlights the impact of the Workforce Education and Training (WET) funding on the state's public mental health system. Discusses the behavioral health needs of older adults, the number and distribution of the state's behavioral health workforce, and workforce challenges, particularly for rural areas.
Author(s): Janet C. Frank, Kathryn G. Kietzman, Alina Palimaru
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
view details
Access to Rural Maternity Care
Policy paper describing obstetric care for rural women in the U.S. Covers challenges to providing access to rural maternity care, such as healthcare quality, birth outcomes, workforce shortages, access, and financial challenges. Includes discussion on policy alternatives and considerations to address workforce issues, barriers to practicing obstetrics in rural areas, and increasing access to maternity care services.
Author(s): Britta Anderson, Adam Gingery, Maeve McClellan, et al.
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
view details
What Is New for RHCs in 2019?
Lists changes to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) policies related to Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). Includes updates to the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual, coverage for virtual communication services, an increase of the RHC Medicare Upper Payment Limit, and an increase in Chronic Care Management reimbursement.
Author(s): Nathan Baugh
Date: 01/2019
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Rural Health Clinics
view details
Project ECHO: Policy Pathways for Sustainability
Examines policy and funding options to provide for the long-term sustainability of Project ECHO, a telehealth mentoring program supporting the health workforce in rural and underserved areas. Offers state and federal policy recommendations, discussing how each would work, action steps, and feasibility.
Author(s): Greg Howe, Allison Hamblin
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
view details
Can the Market Deliver Affordable Health Insurance Options in Rural Areas?
Discusses challenges facing rural insurance markets and offer policy considerations to help address them.
Author(s): Abigail R. Barker, Timothy D. McBride, Keith J. Mueller
Citation: Health Affairs Blog
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
view details
The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (P.L.115-271): Medicare Provisions
Provides a section-by-section description of Medicare provisions in the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT Act). Addresses rural in two sections: Section 6083 seeks to expand access to addiction treatment in Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics by paying for training costs to obtain a DATA waiver to furnish OUD treatment; Section 6042 authorizes a demonstration project testing expanded access to MAT drugs through teams with a primary care provider.
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
view details
Policy Opportunities to Increase HPV Vaccination in Rural Communities
Describes policy strategies that can be implemented in rural communities to address geographic, clinical, communication, and research-related obstacles for human papillomavirus (HPV) prevention. Aims to combat rural health disparities, such as low rates of HPV vaccination and high rates of HPV-related cancer incidence and mortality.
Author(s): Robin Vanderpool, Lindsay Stradtman, Heather Brandt
Citation: Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 15(7-8), 1527-1532
Date: 2019
Type: Document
view details