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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Evaluation of the Medicare Frontier Extended Stay Clinic Demonstration: Report to Congress
Reports on the results of a Medicare Frontier Extended Stay Clinic (FESC) demonstration project that used an enhanced clinic model in frontier areas to address the needs of seriously ill or injured patients who could not be transferred to a hospital or needed monitoring and observation for a limited period of time. Includes an overview of the demonstration and key findings from the project.
Date: 2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Migrant Health Newsline: Commemorative Issue
Final and commemorative issue examining the migrant health movement in the U.S. Includes reprints of past articles about the history of migrant health, the creation of the Migrant Health Program, the Migrant Health Act, and other legislation increasing access to healthcare for migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
Date: 2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Farmworker Health
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Indian Health Service: Opportunities May Exist to Improve the Contract Health Services Program
Examines the challenges involved with timely payments from the Indian Health Service's (IHS) Contract Health Services Program for the care of American Indians and Alaska Natives. Covers IHS's performance measures and other factors that impact the length of time between the provision of healthcare services and IHS Contract Health Services Program reimbursements to providers.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 12/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Rural Primary Care Physician Workforce Expansion: An Opportunity for Bipartisan Legislation
Recommends expansion of graduate medical education (GME) support in teaching health centers (THCs) as a way to address the shortage of rural primary care physicians. Proposes an expanded version of the community health center and academic medicine partnerships (CHAMP) model that would help in the development of rural THCs.
Author(s): Richard E. Rieselbach, Robert L. Phillips, Thomas J. Nasca, Byron J. Crouse
Citation: Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 5(4), 556-559
Date: 12/2013
Type: Document
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Assessing the Impact of Rural Provider Service Mix on the Primary Care Incentive Payment Program
Examines calendar year 2009 Medicare claims data to assess the impact of rural providers' service mix on Primary Care Incentive Payment Program (PCIP) qualifications and payments. Also estimates the financial impact of PCIP payments on rural providers, and evaluates whether the PCIP is fairly applied to rural and urban providers, whose service mixes are likely to differ. The PCIP program lasted from 2011-2015.
Author(s): Dan Shane, A. Clinton MacKinney, Fred Ullrich, Keith J. Mueller, Paula Weigel
Date: 12/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Unfinished Harvest: The Agricultural Worker Protection Act at 30
Discusses the impacts of the 1983 Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (AWPA) on farmworkers' health, safety, housing, and more. Examines the law's historical and legislative background, interpreting court case provisions, and includes insights from leading farmworker advocates around the country.
Author(s): Megan Horn, Nicholas Marritz
Date: 12/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Farmworker Justice Fund, Inc.
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Implications for Beneficiary Travel Time if Financially-Vulnerable Critical Access Hospitals Close
Examines potential increases in beneficiary travel times and distances if financially-vulnerable Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) close. Analysis is based on a review of 93 CAHs identified as financially-vulnerable and likely to close if reimbursement methods or eligibility requirements change.
Author(s): Victoria A. Freeman, Randy K. Randolph, George Pink, Mark Holmes
Date: 12/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Addressing Rural Health Disparities Through Policy Change in the Stroke Belt
Examines the feasibility and acceptability of 24 Common Community Measures for Obesity Prevention (COCOMO) strategies based on local culture, infrastructure, funding, and community support by surveying and interviewing residents from rural Lenoir County, North Carolina.
Author(s): Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts, Tosha W. Smith, Linden Maya Thayer, et al.
Citation: Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 19(6), 503-510
Date: 11/2013
Type: Document
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State Repayment Programs for Health Care Education Loans
Studied state loan repayment and direct financial incentive programs for health professionals, requiring clinical service in underserved communities or practices. Analyzed types of programs by state and types and number of clinicians serving through loan repayment and financial incentive programs.
Author(s): Donald E. Pathman, Lynda Goldberg, Thomas R. Konrad, Jennifer Craft Morgan
Citation: JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 310(18), 1982-1984
Date: 11/2013
Type: Document
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The Burden of Chronic Diseases in a Rural North Florida Sample
Discusses the frequency of four common and preventable chronic diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and arthritis), and the risk factors that may be associated with these diseases among residents in rural North Florida.
Author(s): Henrietta Logan, Yi Guo, Virginia J Dodd, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 13, 906
Date: 10/2013
Type: Document
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