Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Community Health Worker (CHW) Certification and Training: A National Survey of Regionally and State-Based Programs
Provides a national overview of state policy and state involvement in more formal training and certification of community health workers. Analyzes the potential effects of these policy trends.
Author(s): Marlynn L. May, Bita Kash, Ricardo Contreras
Date: 05/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
view details
Health Information Technology: HHS is Taking Steps to Develop a National Strategy
Overview of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services efforts to develop a national health information technology (IT) strategy. Includes some information on rural health IT activities.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 05/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
The 2005 Report to the Secretary: Rural Health and Human Service Issues
Report to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Includes chapters focused on collaborations in rural communities, rural access to obstetrical services, and obesity in rural communities. Also examines rural welfare reform, including barriers faced by TANF recipients in the areas of transportation, child care, and the rural labor market. Includes recommendations to address these issues.
Date: 04/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
view details
National Advisory Committee on Rural Health & Human Services Meeting Minutes, Washington DC, March 20-22, 2005
Minutes from a National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services meeting addressing the following topics: health information technology, Medicare and access to pharmaceutical services, and support for rural caregivers.
Date: 03/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
view details
MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2005
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Discussions of rural aspects of Medicare payment policies are included throughout the report. Includes discussion of strategies to improve care, including pay for performance and information technology.
Date: 03/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Home Health Payment Reform: Trends in the Supply of Rural Agencies and Availability of Home-Based Skilled Services
Reports on changes in the supply of home health agencies in rural and urban areas before and after the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997, which changed reimbursement for home health. Also looks at provision of physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and medical social work by rural and urban home health agencies.
Author(s): Janet P. Sutton
Date: 03/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
view details
Rural Mental Health in the WICHE West: Meeting Workforce Demands through Regional Partnership
Discusses the mental health workforce needs facing the states that are part of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and what can be done to effectively meeting the mental health care needs of the region.
Date: 03/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
view details
Medicare Physician Fees: Geographic Adjustment Indices Are Valid in Design, but Data and Methods Need Refinement
Discusses Medicare's geographic practice cost indices (GPCI). Includes discussion of how these indices impact rural physicians, physician incomes, location, recruitment, and retention.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 03/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Impacts of the Medicare Modernization Act on Rural Health Systems and Beneficiaries
Offers an analysis of rural-pertinent provisions of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. Summarizes legislative and regulatory provisions of special significance to rural beneficiaries and health care systems.
Author(s): Keith Mueller, Andrew Coburn, Charles Fluharty, et al.
Date: 02/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
view details
A Guide for Enhancing Rural Emergency Medical Services
Offers guidance for implementation of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Strategic Highway Safety Plan. Provides strategies that can be employed to enhance rural emergency medical services.
Date: 2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Transportation Research Board
view details