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Rural Health
Resources by Type: Document

Mental Health System Development in Rural and Remote Areas during COVID-19
Report highlights the barriers faced by rural, remote, and tribal communities to accessing mental healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. Details rates of mental health treatment over the past year and compares rural and urban communities. Discusses factors affecting access in rural areas such as workforce shortages, lack of telehealth services, and lack of culturally competent care for American Indian and Alaska Native populations, among others.
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
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Evaluation of the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration: Report Covering 2005-2017 (Interim Report 1)
Provides an overview of the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration (RCHD). Describes the characteristics of RCHD participants that entered the demonstration between 2005-2012, the Medicare payments received under program, and the impact of the RCHD on hospital finances between 2005-2017.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Ready to Respond: Mental Health Beyond Crisis and COVID-19
Report highlights strategies for addressing the need for mental health services in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Details seven recommendations for state mental health programs post-pandemic and discusses workforce challenges and how telehealth can be used to expand access to care to rural and underserved areas.
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
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The Supplemental Poverty Measure: 2020
Provides estimates of poverty for the official poverty measure and the supplemental poverty measure, which takes into account government programs that support low-income families. Appendix Tables 1, 2, and 8 provide data for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas.
Author(s): Liana E. Fox, Kalee Burns
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Income and Poverty in the United States: 2020
Reports on income levels and poverty rates for 2019 and 2020, along with the percent change from 2019 to 2020. Includes statistics for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. Based on data from the 2021 and earlier Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplements.
Author(s): Emily A. Shrider, Melissa Kollar, Frances Chen, Jessica Semega
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs for CY 2022
Comments on an August 4, 2021, Federal Register proposed rule revising the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ACS) payment system for calendar year 2022. Includes considerations for Rural Emergency Hospital payments and emergency department staffing requirements.
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Urban-Rural Differences in Suicide Rates and Leading Means in Kansas
Examines suicide rates and the means of suicide in Kansas between 2000-2019. Compares data by frontier, rural, densely-settled rural, semi-urban, and urban counties.
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
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The Impact of a Population-Based Prevention Program on Cardiovascular Events: Findings from the Heart of New Ulm Project
Study examining major cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence during 9 years of the Heart of New Ulm (HONU) project implementation in rural Minnesota, comparing 4,056 New Ulm residents with 4,056 residents from a separate community. Discusses differences in rates of major CVD events, including ischemic stroke, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), and death related to CVD, assessing outcomes of the HONU project.
Author(s): Abbey C. Sidebottom, Michael D. Miedema, Gretchen Benson, et al.
Citation: American Heart Journal, 239, 38-51
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
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Air Ambulance Use and Surprise Billing
Provides an overview of air ambulance services, including the types and number of air ambulance providers and suppliers, utilization rates by patients, average costs, and the potential for balance billing for air ambulance transport. Summarizes key policies and legislation related to air ambulances, including the No Surprises Act. Presents data on air ambulance utilization by rurality between 2014-2018.
Author(s): Gina Turrini, Joel Ruhter, Andre R. Chappel, Nancy De Lew
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Revisions to Part B for CY 2022
Comment on a July 23, 2021, Federal Register proposed rule revising the physician fee schedule to improve payment systems for physicians and other Medicare Part B revisions. Includes a discussion of the expansion of telehealth service coverage after the COVID-19 public health emergency, as well as reimbursement rates to Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers for telehealth mental health services.
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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