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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Rural Health Care in America: Challenges and Opportunities
Presents the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance full committee hearing on improving rural healthcare across the country. Addresses access to emergency services, rural hospital financial challenges and closures, Accountable Care Organizations, and regulatory and workforce challenges. Features testimonies from representatives of the NC Rural Health Research Program Sheps Center for Health Services Research, the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis, San Luis Valley Health, UnityPoint Health, and Geisinger Health.
Additional links: Statement by James E. Mathews, Statement by Orrin G. Hatch, Statement by Ron Wyden, Testimony by George H. Pink, Testimony by Karen M. Murphy, Testimony by Keith J. Mueller, Testimony by Konnie Martin, Testimony by Susan K. Thompson
Date: 05/2018
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Finance
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Indian Health Service (IHS) FY2019 Budget Request and Funding History: A Fact Sheet
Details the requested budget for the Indian Health Service (IHS) for fiscal year 2019. Presents the IHS funding history going back to 2014.
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Behavioral Health Integration and Workforce Development
Examines the need for states to assess behavioral health integration (BHI) workforce needs, identify legal and policy barriers to practice, and effectively train and retain BHI practitioners, especially in underserved areas. Includes case studies of programs in Washington, Nebraska, and Michigan, and lists of resources.
Author(s): Rachel Block
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
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Drug Discount Program: Status of Agency Efforts to Improve 340B Program Oversight
Testimony before the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, U.S. Senate, describing the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) actions in response to the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) recommendations to improve the 340B program oversight. Covers GAO's ongoing work related to the 340B program and HRSA's efforts to implement the GAO's recommendations. includes information on 340B program participants, program structure, operation, and key requirements.
Additional links: Examining Oversight Reports on the 340B Drug Pricing Program, Full Report
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Using Telehealth to Improve Home-Based Care for Older Adults and Family Caregivers
Describes consumer perspectives and policy concerns with telehealth. Includes examples of home telehealth strategies, potential benefits and challenges, and discussion of home telehealth coverage in federal and state programs, including the Veterans Health Administration, Medicaid, and Medicare.
Author(s): Winifred V. Quinn, Ellen O'Brien, Gregg Springan
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: AARP Public Policy Institute
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Compacts of Free Association: Actions Needed to Prepare for the Transition of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands to Trust Fund Income
Examines the use and roles of U.S. funds and programs in budgets of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and preparations for grant decreases. Appendix III shows compact grants supporting health and education in the FSM and RMI.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Medicaid Managed Care and the Rural Exception: A Review of Issues and Perspectives from the Field
Analyzes Medicaid waivers through September 2017 to examine how state Medicaid procedures affect rural populations. Covers information gathered from State Offices of Rural Health (SORHs), state Medicaid offices, and other stakeholders to describe the process of waiver development.
Author(s): Janice C. Probst, Amy B. Martin, Victor Kirksey
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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Changes in Hospital Utilization Three Years into Maryland's Global Budget Program for Rural Hospitals
Examines the impact of Maryland's global budget program for acute care hospitals, with a focus on Medicare beneficiaries served by rural hospitals. Compares changes in hospital use and hospital spending between the rural hospitals participating in the global budget program and a control group during a 3-year period. Discusses the policy implications for other states considering alternate payment models.
Author(s): Eric T. Roberts, Laura A. Hatfield, J. Michael McWilliams, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs, 37(4), 644-653
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services Meeting Minutes, Saratoga Springs, New York, April 16-18, 2018
Summarizes the 83rd meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS), which was held in Saratoga Springs, New York. Meeting discussion focused on two topics: how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) can affect health and factors affecting health insurance costs for people in rural areas.
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Bridging Population Health & Behavioral Health in Rural New Mexico
Reports on regional forums held in New Mexico to prioritize strategies for improving behavioral health in rural areas of the state. Also offers definitions of population health from the forums.
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Center for Health Innovation, New Mexico Public Health Institute
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