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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Toward a Sustainable and Diversified Rural Health Workforce
Policy position paper focused on the rural health workforce. Provides an analysis of rural healthcare workforce data as well as federal and state policy levers related to the healthcare workforce. Offers policy recommendations and identifies areas for future analysis.
Author(s): Alison Coates, Whitney Zahnd, Courtney Burgin
Date: 02/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Structural Factors That Impact Rural Life Expectancy
Policy position paper focused on challenges to improving life expectancy in rural areas. Offers policy recommendations to address health outcomes in rural populations.
Author(s): Bryan Price, Elizabeth Ruen, Wade Swenson
Date: 02/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Rural Public Health: Improving the Health and Well-being of Rural Populations
Policy position paper focused on public health activities in rural areas and the rural public health infrastructure. Offers policy recommendations that could improve rural public health outcomes.
Author(s): Brady Beecham, Vicki Brooks, Alanti McGill
Date: 02/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Rural Health Clinics
Policy position paper providing an overview of Rural Health Clinics. Offers policy recommendations regarding access to care, RHC reimbursement, and programmatic updates.
Author(s): Kelly Braun, Trent Bourland
Date: 02/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Rural Emergency Hospital Conversion: Critical Factors for EMS Support
Policy position paper focused on emergency medical services (EMS) in communities with hospitals converting to Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) status. Outlines barriers to EMS delivery in rural areas including funding, workforce, and community engagement and support. Includes policy recommendations.
Author(s): Julie Bosak, Jed Hansen
Date: 02/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Mental Health in Rural Areas
Policy position paper focused on mental health in rural areas. Discusses barriers and policy recommendations regarding the availability, access, and acceptability of mental health care in rural communities.
Author(s): Brenda Mack, Heather Whetsell, Janessa M. Graves
Date: 02/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Providing Health Literate Virtual Health Services: Proceedings of a Workshop-in Brief
Summarizes 3 presentations and a panel discussion from a virtual public workshop held on September 23, 2021, by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Roundtable on Health Literacy, covering health-literate telehealth services. Discusses challenges and potential for health literate telehealth, access and equity, and resources available through the HRSA Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT).
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Population Health
Date: 02/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Public-Safety Broadband Network: Congressional Action Required to Ensure Network Continuity
Provides an overview of the implementation progress of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) public-safety broadband network, including network coverage in rural and non-rural areas as of March 2021. Reviews FirstNet's statutory requirements and contract responsibilities Congress should consider before FirstNet's authority sunsets in 2027. Explores options to oversee and manage the network when this authority sunsets, as well as the associated operational implications and potential costs.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 02/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Medicaid and Counties: Understanding the Program and Why It Matters to Counties
Discusses the importance of Medicaid in county-level healthcare. Describes the role Medicaid plays in financing and delivering healthcare for children, the elderly, the disabled, and rural residents. Highlights the impact of COVID-19 on the Medicaid program and challenges for county governments.
Date: 02/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Counties
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Outpatient Telehealth Use Soared Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic but Has since Receded
Brief examining outpatient telehealth visits from March 2019 to August 2021 based on a data set that includes over 126 million patients from 889 hospitals and 19,320 clinics nationwide. Covers changes in telehealth use during the pandemic, telehealth use by age group and gender, rural and urban rates of telehealth use, and telehealth use for management of chronic conditions. Discusses impacts on healthcare access, cost, quality, and outcomes, as well as policy implications.
Author(s): Justin Lo, Matthew Rae, Krutika Ann, Cynthia Cox
Date: 02/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: KFF, Peterson Center on Healthcare
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