Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Service delivery models
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
Sponsoring organizations: American Institutes for Research, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
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
Sponsoring organizations: American Institutes for Research, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
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
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
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
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, June 2023
Semi-annual report to Congress from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC). Covers recommendations on disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments, care integration for people who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare, access to Medicaid coverage for adults leaving incarceration, and barriers to Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS). Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
view details
Semi-annual report to Congress from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC). Covers recommendations on disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments, care integration for people who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare, access to Medicaid coverage for adults leaving incarceration, and barriers to Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS). Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
view details
Expansion of Telehealth Availability for Mental Health Care After State-Level Policy Changes From 2019 to 2022
Explores mental health access associated with state-level telehealth policy changes due to COVID-19. Highlights disparities in mental health via telehealth access before and after COVID-related policy changes and details access rates in counties based on rurality, among other measures.
Author(s): Ryan K. McBain, Megan S. Schuler, Nabeel Qureshi, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(6), e2318045
Date: 06/2023
view details
Explores mental health access associated with state-level telehealth policy changes due to COVID-19. Highlights disparities in mental health via telehealth access before and after COVID-related policy changes and details access rates in counties based on rurality, among other measures.
Author(s): Ryan K. McBain, Megan S. Schuler, Nabeel Qureshi, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(6), e2318045
Date: 06/2023
view details
Medicare Accountable Care Organizations: Presence in Rural America
Presentation slides from a June 6, 2023, webinar for the Rural Northern Border Healthcare Support Technical Assistance Center. Provides an overview of the Medicare Shared Savings Program, including the composition of program participants in 2023, the spread of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) in rural counties, and the federal and state policy landscape. Details changes to the Shared Savings Program for 2024.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute
view details
Presentation slides from a June 6, 2023, webinar for the Rural Northern Border Healthcare Support Technical Assistance Center. Provides an overview of the Medicare Shared Savings Program, including the composition of program participants in 2023, the spread of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) in rural counties, and the federal and state policy landscape. Details changes to the Shared Savings Program for 2024.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute
view details
Rural Youth Engagement Toolkit
Toolkit provides information and strategies for engaging rural youth to address and prevent youth substance misuse in rural communities. Highlights challenges and protective factors for rural youth, details strategies for engagement, and makes policy recommendations.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America
view details
Toolkit provides information and strategies for engaging rural youth to address and prevent youth substance misuse in rural communities. Highlights challenges and protective factors for rural youth, details strategies for engagement, and makes policy recommendations.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America
view details
State Medicaid Telehealth Coverage Policy Decisions Since the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
Describes changes to state Medicaid telehealth policy flexibilities and/or new policies enacted during the COVID-19 PHE as of April–May 2022. Focuses on flexibilities that were rolled back, as well as those made permanent in whole or in part. Examines the decision-making processes behind Medicaid telehealth policy changes. Summarizes findings from guided discussions with state Medicaid representatives across four domains: 1) state attitudes and perspectives on telehealth and telehealth policies; 2) state telehealth policy decision-making processes; 3) states' future plans for telehealth; and 4) challenges and lessons learned. Outlines potential opportunities for the future of telehealth. Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Peggy G. Chen, Sara E. Heins, Stephanie Dellva
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, RAND Corporation
view details
Describes changes to state Medicaid telehealth policy flexibilities and/or new policies enacted during the COVID-19 PHE as of April–May 2022. Focuses on flexibilities that were rolled back, as well as those made permanent in whole or in part. Examines the decision-making processes behind Medicaid telehealth policy changes. Summarizes findings from guided discussions with state Medicaid representatives across four domains: 1) state attitudes and perspectives on telehealth and telehealth policies; 2) state telehealth policy decision-making processes; 3) states' future plans for telehealth; and 4) challenges and lessons learned. Outlines potential opportunities for the future of telehealth. Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Peggy G. Chen, Sara E. Heins, Stephanie Dellva
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, RAND Corporation
view details
Rural Health Challenges and Opportunities
Presentation slides discussing rural health challenges, including access and affordability, poor health, and underlying factors driving the stress on rural health systems. Outlines policy opportunities to improve affordability and create incentives for improved health.
Author(s): Timothy McBride
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Center for Advancing Health Services, Policy and Economics Research, RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
view details
Presentation slides discussing rural health challenges, including access and affordability, poor health, and underlying factors driving the stress on rural health systems. Outlines policy opportunities to improve affordability and create incentives for improved health.
Author(s): Timothy McBride
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Center for Advancing Health Services, Policy and Economics Research, RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
view details
2023 National Survey on MIH-CP Programs
Results of a February 2023 survey of approximately 400 emergency medical services (EMS) agencies nationwide that have launched mobile integrated healthcare and community paramedicine (MIH-CP) programs. Features statistics on nontraditional services offered, and programs by demographic region served, with breakdowns by 3 levels of population density.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians
view details
Results of a February 2023 survey of approximately 400 emergency medical services (EMS) agencies nationwide that have launched mobile integrated healthcare and community paramedicine (MIH-CP) programs. Features statistics on nontraditional services offered, and programs by demographic region served, with breakdowns by 3 levels of population density.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians
view details
Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs): CMS Flexibilities to Fight COVID-19
Outlines specific regulatory waivers and Medicare flexibilities for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Includes information on payments for telehealth services, COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and more. Identifies whether each waiver or flexibility was terminated, ended at the conclusion of the public health emergency, was extended, or became permanent.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details
Outlines specific regulatory waivers and Medicare flexibilities for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Includes information on payments for telehealth services, COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and more. Identifies whether each waiver or flexibility was terminated, ended at the conclusion of the public health emergency, was extended, or became permanent.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details