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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Social Determinants of Health
Policy brief informed by a September 2016 National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services meeting held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with site visits to update the committee about factors that affect health outcomes. Identifies emerging payment models and financing strategies, and provides policy recommendations for addressing the social determinants of health in rural communities.
Date: 01/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Alaska Opioid Policy Task Force: Final Recommendations
Provides recommendations supporting comprehensive public health prevention strategies to prevent and reduce opioid use, misuse, and abuse in rural and urban Alaska.
Date: 01/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Alaska Department of Health
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Community Health Centers: Recent Growth and the Role of the ACA
Uses 2015 federal data on health centers and survey results from the 2016 Survey of Health Centers' Experiences and Activities to provide an overview of health centers and their patients. Compares health centers in Medicaid expansion and non-expansion states, covering topics such as revenue sources, service capacity, patient demographics, patient health coverage, and more. Also discusses the distribution and impact of health centers in rural and medically underserved communities.
Author(s): Sara Rosenbaum, Julia Paradise, Anne Markus, et al.
Date: 01/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Housing Needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives in Tribal Areas: A Report From the Assessment of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian Housing Needs
Provides an overview of housing conditions and needs among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) households in tribal areas. Includes AI/AN demographic, social, and economic characteristics. Also discusses housing produced by tribes using HUD housing funds available through the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) of 1996.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Nancy Pindus, G. Thomas Kingsley, Jennifer Biess, et al.
Date: 01/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
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2016 Rural Enrollment in Health Insurance Marketplaces, by State
Provides enrollment data through March 2016 for state health insurance marketplaces (HIMs) functioning as federally facilitated marketplaces (FFMs) and as federally supported state-based marketplaces (FS-SBMs). Enrollment rates are identified as a percent of the potential market of participants, and parsed by metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas for each state.
Author(s): Abigail R. Barker, Kelsey A. Huntzberry, Timothy D. McBride, Leah M. Kemper, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 01/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Accounting for Social Risk Factors in Medicare Payment
Fifth and final report in a series designed to identify social risk factors that affect the health outcomes of Medicare beneficiaries and methods to account for these factors in Medicare payment programs. Offers thoughts about selecting the best methods to account for social risk factors and achieve policy goals. Chapter 2 includes a discussion about urbanicity and rurality, and suggests that a beneficiary's place of residence is a stronger indicator of social risk than their provider's location. Report was assembled by an ad hoc committee under the direction of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Committee on Accounting for Socioeconomic Status in Medicare Payment Programs
Date: 01/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Georgia State Health Improvement Plan 2016-2021
Describes a plan for the improvement of public health in Georgia. Discusses trends in state demographics and health outcomes, and establishes health improvement priorities, strategies, and targets. Major topics include access, chronic disease prevention, and maternal and child health. Highlights health disparities and health workforce shortages in rural areas.
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Georgia Department of Public Health
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Palau--WHO Country Cooperation Strategy, 2018-2022
Identifies health and development challenges and priorities, and establishes strategic direction and approaches to facing challenges and achieving national goals, in cooperation with the World Health Organization. Features statistics for health indicators including rates of maternal and adult mortality, suicide, immunization, smoking, and access to drinking water and sanitation facilities.
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office
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Federated States of Micronesia--WHO Country Cooperation Strategy, 2018-2022
Identifies health and development challenges and priorities, and establishes strategic direction and approaches to facing challenges and achieving national goals, in cooperation with the World Health Organization. Features statistics for health indicators including rates of maternal and adult mortality, suicide, immunization, smoking, and access to drinking water and sanitation facilities.
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office
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Marshall Islands--WHO Country Cooperation Strategy, 2018-2022
Identifies health and development challenges and priorities, and establishes strategic direction and approaches to facing challenges and achieving national goals, in cooperation with the World Health Organization. Features statistics for health indicators including rates of maternal and adult mortality, suicide, immunization, smoking, and access to drinking water and sanitation facilities.
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office
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