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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Examining Rural Telehealth During the Public Health Emergency
Examines the use of telehealth visits for rural and urban fee-for-service Medicare enrollees between January 2018 and June 2021. Compares telehealth utilization before the COVID-19 pandemic (2018-2019) with telehealth utilization from January 2020 to June 2021. Describes the demographic, geographical, and technological characteristics of telehealth services that were associated with increased telehealth use. Explores the extent to which the increased implementation and utilization of telehealth during the PHE impacted the cost of patient care and provider utilization.
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare
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Telerehabilitation Has Potential, but More Research, Funding, and Advocacy Are Needed
Reviews existing evidence on the use of telerehabilitation in the delivery of rehabilitation services, including physical therapy. Identifies barriers to the effective implementation of telerehabilitation and suggests potential areas that professional advocacy and policy can address to improve access to telerehabilitation services.
Author(s): Elizabeth Cornforth
Citation: Health Affairs Forefront
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
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HUD Rural Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing (RCB) Program
Provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Rural Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing program (RCB). Outlines the program structure and administration, eligibility for primary grantees and their activities, and fiscal year 2019 and 2020 RCB award amounts.
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Medicare Benefit Policy Manual: Chapter 13 - Rural Health Clinic (RHC) and Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Services
Current regulations, as of January 2023, regarding Medicare payment policies for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs).
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Mississippi State Department of Health 2023 Annual Report
Offers overview of public health indicators for residents of the state of Mississippi including mortality, teen birth rates, various health conditions, and vaccination. Discusses regulation and legislative changes, pharmaceutical programs, lab services, public health outreach, rural health workforce shortages, and administrative updates.
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Mississippi State Department of Health
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Communities, Climate Change, and Health Equity: Lessons Learned in Addressing Inequities in Heat-Related Climate Change Impacts: Proceedings of a Workshop-in Brief
Summary of a National Academies' Environmental Health Matters Initiative workshop in June 2023 discussing health equity for heat-related climate change. Highlights challenges with data gathering, recent policy changes, capacity building, and partnerships. Includes discussion of rural specific challenges, occupational health for farmworkers and other outdoor workers, and healthcare access.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Strategic Plan FY 2024
Identifies four Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) goals and related objectives to address healthcare access and service delivery issues, including HRSA's work on rural health.
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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2023-2025 HRSA Strategy to Address Intimate Partner Violence
Highlights plans of the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) to strengthen the federal response to intimate partner violence (IPV). Discusses IPV prevention tools, trainings, and technical assistance resources, including those relevant to rural populations.
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HRSA Office of Women's Health
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Efforts by Critical Access Hospitals to Increase Health Equity Through Greater Engagement with Social Determinants of Health
Examines the ways Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) engage in upstream social determinant of health (SDOH) efforts to improve community health. Analyzes CAH and non-CAH programs that utilize screening, in-house strategies, and external partnerships to address SDOH. Discusses the impacts of SDOH policy on CAHs in rural communities.
Author(s): Bethany Lemont, Neeraj Puro, Berkeley Franz, Cory E. Cronin
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(4), 728-736
Date: 2023
Type: Document
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Closing the Opportunity Gap for Young Children
Discusses the factors that cause inequities and limited access to resources for young children, such as poverty, food insecurity, abuse and violence, lack of social and emotional safety, inadequate healthcare and schooling, and more. Discusses policy and practices aimed at reducing opportunity gaps, with a focus on historically disadvantaged populations, including those in rural areas.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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