Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy
340B Benefits Patients and Communities: Examples from the Frontlines
Provides an overview of the 340B Drug Pricing Program and its impact on hospitals. Offers program examples, information, and statistics, with rural community examples included.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Provides an overview of the 340B Drug Pricing Program and its impact on hospitals. Offers program examples, information, and statistics, with rural community examples included.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Navigating Natural Disasters: Key Strategies for Medicaid Agencies to Support Members
Provides information on the impact of natural disasters on people, communities, and the economy. Discusses how Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) can address health needs of their members by strengthening disaster preparedness, working with managed care organizations, and focusing on policy. Includes examples from rural areas.
Author(s): Armelle Casau, Rachel Yard
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Provides information on the impact of natural disasters on people, communities, and the economy. Discusses how Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) can address health needs of their members by strengthening disaster preparedness, working with managed care organizations, and focusing on policy. Includes examples from rural areas.
Author(s): Armelle Casau, Rachel Yard
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Policy Considerations: The Future of Group VIII (expansion) Medicaid Coverage in Ohio
Provides information on the impact of Medicaid Expansion legislation in Ohio. Includes county-level data on percentage of population enrolled in Medicaid Group VIII as of January 2025 as well as enrollee county type by metropolitan, suburban, Appalachian, or rural. Discusses access issues and potential policy considerations.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
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Provides information on the impact of Medicaid Expansion legislation in Ohio. Includes county-level data on percentage of population enrolled in Medicaid Group VIII as of January 2025 as well as enrollee county type by metropolitan, suburban, Appalachian, or rural. Discusses access issues and potential policy considerations.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
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Comparative Effectiveness of Buprenorphine Adherence with Telemedicine Versus In-Person for Rural and Urban Patients
Compares adherence to buprenorphine for opioid use disorder in telemedicine versus in-person healthcare in rural and urban populations. Utilizes 2017–2022 data from 511 adults and compares 3,302 in-person and 519 telemedicine visits, with breakdowns according to patient characteristics, adherence, gaps in treatment, and rural versus urban location. Discusses changing legislative requirements related to buprenorphine treatment and the potential impact on rural populations.
Author(s): Thomas J. Reese, Nana Addo Padi-Adjirackor, Kevin N. Griffith, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 65(2), 102318
Date: 03/2025
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Compares adherence to buprenorphine for opioid use disorder in telemedicine versus in-person healthcare in rural and urban populations. Utilizes 2017–2022 data from 511 adults and compares 3,302 in-person and 519 telemedicine visits, with breakdowns according to patient characteristics, adherence, gaps in treatment, and rural versus urban location. Discusses changing legislative requirements related to buprenorphine treatment and the potential impact on rural populations.
Author(s): Thomas J. Reese, Nana Addo Padi-Adjirackor, Kevin N. Griffith, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 65(2), 102318
Date: 03/2025
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Public Health Research and Program Strategies for Diabetes Prevention and Management
Editorial describing diabetes prevention and management efforts and policy since 1975. Discusses disparities in diabetes prevalence including rural residence. Highlights current and future work in diabetes prevention and management.
Author(s): Shelly-Ann Bowen, Arsham Alamian, Stephen Onufrak
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 22
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Editorial describing diabetes prevention and management efforts and policy since 1975. Discusses disparities in diabetes prevalence including rural residence. Highlights current and future work in diabetes prevention and management.
Author(s): Shelly-Ann Bowen, Arsham Alamian, Stephen Onufrak
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 22
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Skilled Nursing Facility Services: Chapter 6
Discusses payment adequacy for skilled nursing facility (SNF) services. Features statistics on SNF care provided by rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) via swing beds and Medicare margins for urban, rural, and frontier freestanding SNFs in 2023.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Discusses payment adequacy for skilled nursing facility (SNF) services. Features statistics on SNF care provided by rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) via swing beds and Medicare margins for urban, rural, and frontier freestanding SNFs in 2023.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Home Health Care Services: Chapter 7
Discusses payment adequacy for home health care services. Features statistics on Medicare margins for home health agencies between 2019-2023 with breakdowns by urban and rural areas, a comparison of patient-experience quality measures by urban and rural status, and the number of home health periods provided to rural beneficiaries.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Discusses payment adequacy for home health care services. Features statistics on Medicare margins for home health agencies between 2019-2023 with breakdowns by urban and rural areas, a comparison of patient-experience quality measures by urban and rural status, and the number of home health periods provided to rural beneficiaries.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Hospice Services: Chapter 9
Discusses payment adequacy for hospice and palliative support services. Includes data on average costs by day and aggregate margins by urban and rural status, as well as demographics on Medicare decedents who used hospice during 2010 and between 2019-2023. Compares the actual hospice utilization rates in micropolitan, rural adjacent, rural nonadjacent, and frontier areas to urban hospice utilization rates.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Discusses payment adequacy for hospice and palliative support services. Includes data on average costs by day and aggregate margins by urban and rural status, as well as demographics on Medicare decedents who used hospice during 2010 and between 2019-2023. Compares the actual hospice utilization rates in micropolitan, rural adjacent, rural nonadjacent, and frontier areas to urban hospice utilization rates.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2025
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses payment adequacy for Medicare fee-for-service payment systems, Medicare Advantage (MA), and Medicare Part D.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses payment adequacy for Medicare fee-for-service payment systems, Medicare Advantage (MA), and Medicare Part D.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, March 2025
Reports on three aspects of Medicaid of interest to Congress: 1) improving the usability and transparency of the managed care external quality review process, 2) improvements on timely access to home- and community-based services (HCBS), and 3) ways to streamline Medicaid Section 1915 authorities for home-and community-based services and reduce the administrative burden.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Reports on three aspects of Medicaid of interest to Congress: 1) improving the usability and transparency of the managed care external quality review process, 2) improvements on timely access to home- and community-based services (HCBS), and 3) ways to streamline Medicaid Section 1915 authorities for home-and community-based services and reduce the administrative burden.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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