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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Type: Document

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
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
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
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
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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
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
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program: Too Early to Determine Effects of Allowing Recipients to Serve at For-Profit Facilities
Provides an overview of the Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program as well as how the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) manages the program. Examines the effects of eliminating the restrictions on program participants working at for-profit facilities.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Changes in Hospitalizations and In-Hospital Deaths for Adults Aged 65 Years and Older in the Initial Period of the COVID-19 Pandemic (April-September 2020), 13 States
Presents data from 13 states on the number of all-cause hospitalizations and in-hospital deaths among adults aged 65 years old and over between April–September 2020 and compares this data to statistics from the same quarter in 2016-2019. Presents data by patient characteristics, including urban or rural status. Includes data on the percent of hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID-19 in 2020.
Author(s): Zhengyi Fang, Pamela L. Owens
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Changes in Hospitalizations and In-Hospital Deaths for Adults Aged 18-64 Years in the Initial Period of the COVID-19 Pandemic (April-September 2020), 13 States
Presents data from 13 states on the number of all-cause hospitalizations and in-hospital deaths among adults aged 18-64 years old between April–September 2020 and compares this data to statistics from the same quarter in 2016-2019. Presents data by patient characteristics, including urban or rural status. Includes data on the percent of hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID-19 in 2020.
Author(s): Lawrence D. Reid, Marc Roemer
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Changes in Pediatric Hospitalizations and In-Hospital Deaths in the Initial Period of the COVID-19 Pandemic (April-September 2020), 13 States
Presents data from 13 states on the number of pediatric hospitalizations and in-hospital deaths between April–September 2020 and compares this data to statistics from the same quarter in 2016-2019. Presents data by patient characteristics, including urban or rural status. Includes data on the percent of pediatric hospitalizations related to COVID-19 in 2020.
Author(s): Lawrence D. Reid, Zhengyi Fang
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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