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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Addressing the New Health Care Crisis: Reforming the Medical Litigation System to Improve the Quality of Health Care
Discusses the medical litigation system as it relates to health care access. Includes statistics on malpractice insurance rates. Proposes limits on non-economic damages and protection from litigation for reporting safety problems.
Date: 03/2003
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Shared Destiny: Community Effects of Uninsurance
Discusses effects of uninsurance on healthcare financing, delivery and access. Discusses economic and social implications of uninsurance for communities, including information specific to rural communities.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance
Date: 03/2003
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Innovative Primary Care Case Management Programs Operating in Rural Communities: Case Studies of Three States
Discusses state programs that provide enhanced benefits to Medicaid beneficiaries such as enhanced primary care case management (PCCM). Includes examples from three states: Florida, North Carolina, and Oklahoma.
Additional links: Findings Brief, March 2003: Design of Enhanced Primary Care Case Management Programs Operating in Rural Communities: Lessons Learned from Three States
Author(s): Pam Silberman, Stephanie Poley, Rebecca Slifkin
Date: 01/2003
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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An Assessment of Proposals for a Medicare Outpatient Prescription Drug Benefit: The Rural Perspective
Assesses legislative proposals to add an outpatient prescription drug benefit to the Medicare program and their implications for the delivery of services and the welfare of beneficiaries in rural areas.
Author(s): Andrew F. Coburn, Charles W. Fluharty, J. Patrick Hart, et al.
Date: 01/2003
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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State Licensure Laws and the Mental Health Professions: Implications for the Rural Mental Health Workforce
Examines licensure statutes and administrative rules for social workers, psychologists, professional counselors, and marriage and family therapists in the 40 states that have at least 10% of the population living in rural areas. Covers scope of practice, training and supervision, and reimbursement.
Author(s): David Hartley, Erika C. Ziller, David Lambert, Stephenie L. Loux, Donna C. Bird
Date: 10/2002
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health & Human Services Meeting Minutes, Pray, Montana, September 2-4, 2002.
Minutes from a National Advisory Committee on Rural Health & Human Services meeting addressing the following topics: the Rural Hospital Flexibility Grant Program (Flex) and Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant (SHIP) Programs, quality of care in rural hospitals, and a Montana health workforce shortage task force.
Date: 09/2002
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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One Department Serving Rural America
Reports findings from a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) task force focused on improving healthcare and human services in rural communities. Describes health and social services challenges facing rural America, barriers to serving rural areas, and HHS-wide goals and strategies to address these concerns.
Author(s): HHS Rural Task Force
Date: 07/2002
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Rural Hospital Access to Capital: Issues and Recommendations
Identifies federal programs that have or could help rural hospitals meet their capital needs, assesses whether rural hospitals have difficulty getting capital under the current programs, and makes recommendations for improvement. The Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program (HUD 242) and USDA Community Facilities Program (CFP) are discussed.
Author(s): Walter Gregg, Astrid Knott, Ira Moscovice
Date: 07/2002
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Trends in Special Medicare Payments and Service Utilization for Rural Areas in the 1990s
Presents the findings of an analysis of payment trends for providers qualifying under Medicare special payment provisions for rural providers. Covers payment trends for rural hospitals, Rural Health Clinics, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and physicians.
Author(s): Donna O. Farley, Lisa R. Shugarman, Pat Taylor, et al.
Date: 06/2002
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health & Human Services Meeting Minutes, Tucson and Bisbee, Arizona, June 9-11, 2002
Minutes of a National Advisory Committee on Rural Health & Human Services meeting focused on health issues in the U.S.-Mexico Border region, including chronic disease, health services needs related to immigration, malpractice insurance costs, and lack of obstetric services.
Date: 06/2002
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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