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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Service delivery models

A Path Forward: The Rural Healthcare System of the Future
Presentation slides that discuss federal and state healthcare policies, implementation of new models of care, and plans to transform patient modalities of care. Includes U.S. county-level map on the Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) assigned beneficiary population as well as county-level data on ACO attributed lives in Illinois and residents enrolled in Medicare advantage.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller
Date: 06/2023
Type: Presentation Slides
Sponsoring organizations: Iowa Department of Health Management and Policy, Rural Policy Research Institute
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Tennessee Rural Health Care Task Force: Improving Rural Health Care Across Tennessee
Report from the Tennessee Rural Health Care Task Force. Offers recommendations to the state in the areas of access to care, workforce development, and social drivers of health. Discusses rural health research and advocacy, health insurance, telemedicine, workforce training, grants and loans, and more.
Author(s): Morgan McDonald, David Dill
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
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Rural Health on Life Support
Podcast episode discussing the effects of policy on rural maternal health outcomes and access to maternity care services. Covers racial and ethnic disparities in severe maternal morbidity and mortality and the role of state policies, including Medicaid policies, on maternal and infant health.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Impact! Communications, Inc.
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The EMS and Community Paramedic Workforces Respond to COVID-19
Results of a study in which 17 key informant experts shared their perspectives on how the emergency medical services (EMS) and community paramedicine (CP) workforces responded to COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic. Also describes how the pandemic has affected EMS and CP. Features statistics on participant characteristics, with breakdowns by rural and urban locations.
Author(s): Davis G. Patterson, Marieke S. van Eijk, Samantha W. Pollack, Benjamin A. Stubbs, Christopher Hanson
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Critical Access Hospitals: Views on How Medicare Payment and Other Factors Affect Behavioral Health Services
Provides an overview of how Medicare payment policies for care provided by Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Explores how CAHs provide behavioral health services in their communities. Summarizes findings from interviews with officials from 10 CAHs, stakeholder organizations, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) regarding how Medicare payment policies and other factors affect CAHs' ability to provide behavioral health services.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Assessing the Effectiveness of Policies to Improve Access to Primary Care for Underserved Populations: Case Study Analysis: Kanawha County, West Virginia
Case study of policy initiatives to increase access to primary care, focusing on Kanawha County, West Virginia. Discusses workforce shortages, healthcare access, structural barriers to primary care, healthcare affordability, and more.
Author(s): Maanasa Kona, Jalisa Clark, Emma Walsh-Alker, Megan Houston
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
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TIP 64: Incorporating Peer Support Into Substance Use Disorder Treatment Services
Details guidelines for implementing peer support services (PSS) into programs for substance use treatment and recovery. Discusses the role of peer support workers in the recovery process in SUD treatment centers, recovery centers and residencies, and hospitals, among others. Breaks down the guidelines for PSS, such as professional supervision and peer worker training and certification. Includes a section on delivering peer support in rural areas on page 45 and other rural mentions throughout.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Addressing the Impact of Rural Hospital Closures on Maternal and Infant Health
Blog post discussing the impact of rural hospital closures on rural maternal and infant health outcomes. Identifies risk-appropriate strategies to ensure the provision of maternal and infant healthcare at facilities that best meet each individual's level of health risk. Covers birthing centers, hub-and-spoke models, and telehealth models to preserve access to care.
Author(s): Lexa Giragosian
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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Using Population-Based Outcome Measures to Assess the Impact of Telehealth Expansion on Medicare Beneficiaries' Access to Care and Quality of Care
Explores the feasibility of using population-based measures to estimate the association between telehealth use, quality of care, and access to care when both telehealth and in-person visits are available to fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare beneficiaries. Compares data from the second half of 2019 to the second half of 2021 by the level of telehealth utilization in Hospital Service Areas (HSAs). Includes rural references throughout.
Author(s): Morteza Saharkhiz, Tanvi Rao, Sara Parker Lue, et al.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: American Institutes for Research, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System, June 2023
Evaluates Medicare payment issues and provides recommendations to the U.S. Congress. Chapter 7 presents a report on the use, payment, and quality of telehealth services that Medicare pays for separately under the physician fee schedule (PFS). Also includes chapters on the cost of drugs covered under Medicare Part B, postsale rebates for prescription drugs in Medicare Part D, standardized benefits in Medicare Advantage plans, future directions for Medicare Advantage payment policy, disparities in outcomes for beneficiaries with different social risks, Medicare behavioral health services, the alignment of fee-for-service payment rates across ambulatory settings, and the evaluation of a post-acute care prospective payment system prototype.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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