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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Addressing Healthcare Workforce Issues for the Future: Hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Provides the final transcript from a Senate committee hearing focused on the future supply of primary care providers. Includes statements, questions, and answers from senators, health workforce experts, and the Health Resources and Services Administration focusing on health care provider shortages in rural areas. Discusses policies intended to address these shortages.
Date: 02/2008
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services Meeting Minutes, Washington, DC, February 20-22, 2008
Reports on a meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services, part of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Meeting included the following topics: medical homes, serving at-risk children, and the health workforce.
Date: 02/2008
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Out of Order, Out of Time: The State of the Nation's Health Workforce
Focuses attention on the need for a collaborative, coordinated, national health workforce planning initiative. Chapters 5 and 7 of the full report discuss socioeconomic trends and challenges including students' limited access to health professions education partly due to faculty shortages, and the importance of keeping pace with the increasing diversity of the U.S. population. Also discusses resources such as pipeline initiatives for K-12 students which focus more on rural areas or underrepresented minorities, and offering distance education and online courses particularly for those in rural areas. Includes the 2013 Call to Action, the 2013 Policy Framework, and the full report.
Date: 2008
Sponsoring organization: Alliance of Academic Health Centers International
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Rural Crime and Policing in American Indian Communities
Examines crime and policing in Indian communities, including the historical development of Indian tribal policy. Identifies major factors limiting implementation of effective police forces in Indian communities.
Author(s): L. Edward Wells, David N. Falcone
Citation: Southern Rural Sociology, 23(2), 199-225
Date: 2008
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Indian Health Service: HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment Services for American Indians and Alaska Natives
Discusses HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services provided by Indian Health Service (IHS) at IHS facilities and through outside providers. Includes some discussion specific to services in rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 12/2007
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Americans with Disabilities Act: ADA Guide for Small Towns
Presents an informal overview of some basic ADA requirements and provides cost effective tips on how small towns can comply with the ADA.
Date: 12/2007
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Justice
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Medicare Program: Changes to the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System, Ambulatory Surgical Center System, Graduate Medical Education and Critical Access Hospital; Interim and Final Rule with Comment Period
Addresses changes to the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and CY 2008 Payment Rates, the Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System and CY 2008 Payment Rates, the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and FY 2008 Payment Rates. Describes changes relating to the necessary provider designations of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and to the conditions of participation requirements. Also addresses changes to graduate medical education (GME) payments made to teaching hospitals that have Medicare affiliation agreements for certain emergency situations.
Citation: Federal Register, 72(227), 66579-67226
Date: 11/2007
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Medicare Advantage Plans in Rural America
Identifies key policy issues and questions concerning the impact of Medicare Advantage (MA) in rural areas.
Author(s): Andrew F. Coburn, A. Clinton MacKinney, Timothy D. McBride, et al.
Date: 10/2007
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services Meeting Minutes, Madison, Wisconsin, September 12-14, 2007
Minutes from the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services' 57th meeting, which included discussions on several Wisconsin-specific healthcare and healthcare workforce issues, welfare reform, state Medicaid waivers, Toyota Motor Company's North American health initiatives, child poverty, and more.
Date: 09/2007
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs): Distance from Other Providers and Relocation of CAHs with a Necessary Provider Designation
September 7, 2007, letter from CMS to State Survey Agency Directors. Explains the criteria to determine whether a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) applicant satisfies the regulatory requirement. Explains the criteria to determine whether a CAH with a necessary provider designation remains essentially the same provider, serving the same service area after relocation. Supersedes the November 14, 2005, guidance on this topic.
Date: 09/2007
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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