Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy
Evaluation of the Million Hearts® Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model: Final Evaluation Report
Describes the results of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model, a five-year randomized trial that aimed to reduce the incidence of first-time heart attacks and strokes among Medicare beneficiaries. Covers participant characteristics, including rural or urban status and organization type; changes in cardiovascular disease risk scores; effects of the model on healthcare utilization; intermediate- and long-term impacts on beneficiaries; and the contribution of these findings to the broader literature on cardiovascular disease prevention and value-based care.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mathematica, RAND Corporation
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Describes the results of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model, a five-year randomized trial that aimed to reduce the incidence of first-time heart attacks and strokes among Medicare beneficiaries. Covers participant characteristics, including rural or urban status and organization type; changes in cardiovascular disease risk scores; effects of the model on healthcare utilization; intermediate- and long-term impacts on beneficiaries; and the contribution of these findings to the broader literature on cardiovascular disease prevention and value-based care.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mathematica, RAND Corporation
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Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry (ACTPCMD) Meeting Minutes, August 17, 2023
Summarizes the Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry (ACTPCMD) meeting held August 17, 2023. Features updates from the Bureau of Health Workforce on programs to address healthcare workforce shortages and Title VII funding opportunities planned for 2024, including the Primary Care Training and Enhancement (PCTE) - Physician Assistant Rural Training in Mental and Behavioral Health and the Rural Community Program Directors programs.
Additional links: Presentations
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry
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Summarizes the Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry (ACTPCMD) meeting held August 17, 2023. Features updates from the Bureau of Health Workforce on programs to address healthcare workforce shortages and Title VII funding opportunities planned for 2024, including the Primary Care Training and Enhancement (PCTE) - Physician Assistant Rural Training in Mental and Behavioral Health and the Rural Community Program Directors programs.
Additional links: Presentations
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry
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Mental Health Matters: Policy Framework on Workforce Mental Health
Policy framework designed to support the development of workforce mental health policies. Discusses nondiscrimination, workplace supports, rural communities, workforce shortages and more.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Conference of State Legislatures
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Policy framework designed to support the development of workforce mental health policies. Discusses nondiscrimination, workplace supports, rural communities, workforce shortages and more.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Conference of State Legislatures
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Rural Emergency Hospitals: Legislative and Regulatory Considerations for States
Provides an overview of the Rural Emergency Hospital designation, including licensure and federal requirements for the designation that states must consider before pursuing legislation for REH licensure. Presents a table comparing how 14 states addressed these considerations. Offers legislation to assist states that want to pursue the model.
Additional links: Guide to Legislative and Regulatory Considerations for States
Author(s): Vicki Veltri, Rebekah Falkner
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
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Provides an overview of the Rural Emergency Hospital designation, including licensure and federal requirements for the designation that states must consider before pursuing legislation for REH licensure. Presents a table comparing how 14 states addressed these considerations. Offers legislation to assist states that want to pursue the model.
Additional links: Guide to Legislative and Regulatory Considerations for States
Author(s): Vicki Veltri, Rebekah Falkner
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Home Health Prospective Payment System for FY 2024
Comments on a July 10, 2023, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for home health agencies. Includes comments on expanding the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model nationwide, wage index adjustments, the Hospice Special Focus Program (SFP), and more.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Comments on a July 10, 2023, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for home health agencies. Includes comments on expanding the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model nationwide, wage index adjustments, the Hospice Special Focus Program (SFP), and more.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the End-Stage Renal Disease Payment System Update for FY 2024
Comments on a June 30, 2023, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Includes comments addressing the low-volume payment adjustment (LVPA) and recommending the development of a new payment adjustment based on geographic isolation.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Comments on a June 30, 2023, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Includes comments addressing the low-volume payment adjustment (LVPA) and recommending the development of a new payment adjustment based on geographic isolation.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program: Feedback Should Be Provided to Applicants Receiving Equitable Distribution Grants
Provides an overview of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) and the grants awarded under the program through July 25, 2023. Summarizes findings from a review of program documents and interviews and surveys with program officials and eligible entities regarding whether applicants who received equitable distribution grants received constructive feedback to improve applications in subsequent rounds of funding.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Provides an overview of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) and the grants awarded under the program through July 25, 2023. Summarizes findings from a review of program documents and interviews and surveys with program officials and eligible entities regarding whether applicants who received equitable distribution grants received constructive feedback to improve applications in subsequent rounds of funding.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Impact Extra Episode - Rural Health on Life Support Emergency Rural Health Care Grants
Podcast episode featuring Farah Ahmad, Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Discusses how USDA Rural Development (RD) invests in rural communities, including improving access to healthy foods in rural communities. Provides an overview of the Emergency Rural Health Care Grant program, which helped increase access to COVID-19 testing and vaccines, rural healthcare and telehealth services, and food assistance.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Impact! Communications, Inc.
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Podcast episode featuring Farah Ahmad, Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Discusses how USDA Rural Development (RD) invests in rural communities, including improving access to healthy foods in rural communities. Provides an overview of the Emergency Rural Health Care Grant program, which helped increase access to COVID-19 testing and vaccines, rural healthcare and telehealth services, and food assistance.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Impact! Communications, Inc.
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Physical Activity–Friendly Policies and Community Design Features in the US, 2014 and 2021
Examines policy and community design changes from 2014 to 2021 that support physical activity infrastructure. Focuses on designs and policies such as sidewalk width, lighting, bicycle space, and more. Includes discussions about infrastructure and policy specific to rural areas.
Author(s): Bryant J. Webber, Geoffrey P. Whitfield, Latetia V. Moore, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 20
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Examines policy and community design changes from 2014 to 2021 that support physical activity infrastructure. Focuses on designs and policies such as sidewalk width, lighting, bicycle space, and more. Includes discussions about infrastructure and policy specific to rural areas.
Author(s): Bryant J. Webber, Geoffrey P. Whitfield, Latetia V. Moore, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 20
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Changes in Policy Supports for Healthy Food Retailers, Farmers Markets, and Breastfeeding Among US Municipalities, 2014–2021: National Survey of Community-Based Policy and Environmental Supports for Healthy Eating and Active Living (CBS-HEAL)
Examines policies that support healthy food access and breastfeeding, such as tax incentives for food vendors, streamlined processes for farmers markets, breaktime for workers who pump breast milk, and more. Tracks data changes between 2014 and 2021 to examine policies in US municipalities according to rural-urban status, Census region, educational attainment, poverty, and race/ethnicity.
Author(s): Stephen J. Onufrak, Latetia V. Moore, Samantha L. Pierce, Carol A. MacGowan, Deborah A. Galuska
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 20
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Examines policies that support healthy food access and breastfeeding, such as tax incentives for food vendors, streamlined processes for farmers markets, breaktime for workers who pump breast milk, and more. Tracks data changes between 2014 and 2021 to examine policies in US municipalities according to rural-urban status, Census region, educational attainment, poverty, and race/ethnicity.
Author(s): Stephen J. Onufrak, Latetia V. Moore, Samantha L. Pierce, Carol A. MacGowan, Deborah A. Galuska
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 20
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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