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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Ready or Not? How Community Health Centers View Their Preparedness to Care for Newly Insured Patients
Surveys Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) on their preparedness for the anticipated growth in patients due to more people having obtained health insurance under the enactment of the Affordable Care Act. Addresses workforce challenges and mentions rural throughout.
Author(s): Melinda K. Abrams, Michelle M. Doty, Jamie Ryan, Dominique Hall, Pamela Riley
Date: 05/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health & Human Services Meeting Minutes, Omaha, Nebraska, April 28-30, 2014
Provides a summary of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services meeting. Discusses challenges of the Affordable Care Act in rural areas, related marketplace and health insurance premiums research, and rural homelessness. Addresses some rural health challenges for Nebraska and Iowa.
Date: 04/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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HIV/AIDS in Rural America: Disproportionate Impact on Minority and Multicultural Populations
Overview of the impact of AIDS and HIV in rural areas. Summarizes the epidemiology of AIDS/HIV, including its impact on rural minority groups. Discusses the challenges rural areas face in preventing and treating AIDS. Includes policy recommendations.
Date: 04/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010: Impacts on Rural People, Places, and Providers: A Second Look
Addresses the impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on rural communities with a focus on health insurance coverage, Medicare and Medicaid payment, quality and delivery system reform, public health, healthcare workforce, and long-term care.
Author(s): Andrew F. Coburn, Jennifer P. Lundblad, A. Clinton MacKinney, et al.
Date: 04/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Telecommunications: Projects and Policies Related to Deploying Broadband in Unserved and Underserved Areas
Shares options for broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas. Identifies alternative approaches to expanding rural broadband and factors to consider when planning a broadband project. Identifies economic, legal, and policy issues. Describes FCC efforts to foster broadband deployment in unserved areas. Appendix includes brief case studies.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Health Policy Brief: The Role of Diversity in Ohio's Health Workforce
Discusses healthcare access for Ohio's underserved populations and strategies to help diversify its health workforce. Covers potential benefits of increasing the representation of rural people in the health workforce.
Date: 04/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
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Compendium of Priority Recommendations: March 2014
Annual report identifying the top 25 unimplemented recommendations from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) that, in OIG's view, would have the most substantial positive impact on Health and Human Services (HHS) programs. Positive impact may refer to cost savings, program efficacy and efficiency, and/or quality improvement. Primary areas of interest in the March 2014 edition include: improving quality assurance programs in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and updating location requirements and conditions of participation for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).
Date: 03/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2014
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Discussions of rural aspects of Medicare payment policies are included throughout the report.
Date: 03/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Health Insurance Coverage of Low-Income Rural Children Increases and Is More Continuous Following CHIP Implementation
Compares insurance coverage of low-income children before and after the passage of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), with rural/urban comparisons. Addresses the uninsurance rate and health insurance continuity for low-income children in rural areas over time using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
Author(s): Erika C. Ziller
Date: 03/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Realizing Rural Care Coordination: Considerations and Action Steps for State Policy-Makers
Identifies action steps and policy considerations for coordinating care in rural areas based on the experiences of six states: Colorado, Alabama, New Mexico, Montana, Vermont, and North Carolina.
Author(s): Michael Stanek, Carrie Hanlon, Tess Shiras
Date: 03/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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