Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Revisions to Part B for CY 2019
Comment on a July 2018 Federal Register proposed rule revising the physician fee schedule to improve payment systems for physicians and other Medicare Part B revisions.
Author(s): Francis J. Crosson
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Health Equity Challenges in Rural America
Discusses multiple factors contributing to health inequities in rural communities including poorer healthcare access, lack of health insurance, hospital closures, workforce shortages, limited availability of services, and longer distances to specialized healthcare. Offers recommendations for rural community leaders and policy makers to improve economic and socioeconomic conditions, including rural health infrastructure investment.
Author(s): Erika Ziller, Andrew Coburn
Citation: Human Rights Magazine, 43(3)
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
view details
Policy Landscape for Community Health Center Integration of Behavioral Health & SUD/OUD Services
Presents the findings from an analysis of community health centers (CHCs) in fourteen states to evaluate the services they offer, and recognize the barriers preventing CHCs from implementing, developing, and sustaining the integration of behavioral health and substance abuse disorder services.
Author(s): Kima Taylor
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Community Health Centers
view details
Implementing Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder in Rural Settings: A Focus on HIV and Hepatitis C Prevention and Treatment
Provides an overview of the epidemiology of opioid use disorder (OUD) with a focus on HIV and Hepatitis C transmission in the rural U.S. and particularly in rural Indiana. Identifies evidence-based treatments for OUD and their effectiveness in reducing other health issues associated with OUD. Discusses barriers to care and policy and research issues for increasing access to treatment of OUD in rural areas.
Author(s): Jennifer R. Havens, Sharon L. Walsh, P. Todd Korthuis, David A. Fiellin
Citation: Current HIV/AIDS Reports,15(4), 315–323
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
view details
2018 Update on Priority Strategies: North Carolina Rural Health Action Plan
Details the progress North Carolina has made in 6 priority areas outlined in the 2014 Rural Health Action Plan. These include investment in local industries, ensuring that childhood settings promote educational success, encouraging healthy eating and active living, screening for and treating substance abuse and mental health issues, educating people about insurance and safety net options, and creating incentives to support recruitment and retention of providers to underserved areas.
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Institute of Medicine
view details
Exploring the Rural Context for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Discusses adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and how they may impact rural health. Provides policy recommendations focused on the rural dimensions of ACEs. Addresses categories of ACEs, prevalence in rural areas and for Native populations, federal efforts to address ACEs, and the opioid epidemic. Covers the role of school-based healthcare programs to increase access to pediatric specialty services or linking children to needed non-medical services. Profiles a committee site visit focused on a model ACEs program in New York in Appendix A.
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
view details
Advanced Primary Care: A Key Contributor to Successful ACOs
Reviews the literature on accountable care organizations (ACOs) regarding characteristics of successful ACOs and outcomes for cost, quality, and utilization, including literature on rural ACOs. Analyzes Medicare and National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) data on ACO cost and quality outcomes to assess the role of advanced primary care models such as patient-centered medical homes on ACO success.
Author(s): Yalda Jabbarpour, Megan Coffman, Andy Habib, et al.
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Primary Care Collaborative, Robert Graham Center
view details
Rural Health Insurance Market Challenges
Policy brief examining challenges affecting rural health insurance markets with a focus on Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, Medicaid Managed Care, and the Health Insurance Marketplace. Provides recommendations related to health insurance availability, network development and adequacy, and consumer and provider engagement.
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
view details
A Core Set of Rural-Relevant Measures and Measuring and Improving Access to Care: 2018 Recommendations from the MAP Rural Health Workgroup
Identifies a set of core measures focused on rural access to care and recommends how to measure them while coordinating data collection efforts. Third in a series of 3 reports documenting the Measures Applications Partnerships Rural Health Workgroup's efforts, a public-private partnership of healthcare stakeholders.
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Quality Forum MAP Rural Health Advisory Workgroup
view details
Field Oversight Hearing on "Overcrowded Housing and the Impacts on American Indian and Alaska Natives."
Presents the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs field hearing in Savoonga, AK on the effect the lack of housing is having on the Native Village of Savoonga. Features testimony from representatives from Savoonga, AK, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Bering Straits Regional Housing Authority, and the Norton Sound Health Corporation.
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
view details