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Healthcare Access in Rural Communities – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Healthcare Access in Rural Communities.

Health Care Capsule: Accessing Health Care in Rural America
Discusses challenges rural communities face related to healthcare access, such as limited healthcare providers, travel distance and transportation issues, insurance coverage, and access to broadband. Provides policy recommendations from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to address rural healthcare disparities.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Access to Maternity Providers: Midwives and Birth Centers
Provides an overview of the role of certified nurse-midwives and birth centers in Medicaid and how beneficiaries use these services. Describes policy issues and barriers to expanding access to midwives and birth centers, including payment policies; contracting with managed care organizations; licensure, certification, and accreditation; scope of practice; and limited supply. Includes rural considerations throughout.
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Effect of Rurality and Travel Distance on Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy for Unilateral Breast Cancer
Analyzes the relationship between travel time and rurality for breast cancer patients seeking contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM). Utilizes 2007-2017 National Cancer Database data to examine demographic factors, patient rurality, surgery characteristics, and more.
Author(s): Madison M. Wahlen, Ingrid M. Lizarraga, Amanda R. Kahl, et al.
Citation: Cancer Causes & Control, 34, 171-186
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
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Implications of COVID-19 on Safety-Net Oral Health Services
Examines COVID-19 pandemic impacts on Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and other safety-net dental providers. Describes the challenges safety-net providers face in delivering care to underserved and rural communities, and examines impacts on safety-net providers offering oral health services through mobile programs. Features statistics on FQHCs offering oral health services, with breakdowns by region.
Author(s): Margaret Langelier, Simona Surdu, Theekshana Fernando, Sai Sindhura Gundavarapu, Alex Romero
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Oral Health Workforce Research Center
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Challenges and Solutions for Disaster Behavioral Health in Rural and Remote Communities
Describes the scope and diversity of rural and remote populations across the nation, highlighting sources of strength and struggle, including the effects of stigma, for rural Americans and rural healthcare providers. Explores potential approaches to disaster behavioral health in rural and remote areas, including governmental and policy approaches, community-based approaches, and telemedicine.
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center
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More than One in Five Adults with Limited Public Transit Access Forgo Health Care Because of Transportation Barriers
Provides information on adults who have foregone healthcare due to lack of transportation. Analyzes June 2022 data from the Urban Institute's Health Reform Monitoring Survey (HRMS) on healthcare access, missed appointments, and access to vehicles, with data broken down by race/ethnicity, disability status, health insurance coverage, and rural versus urban residence.
Author(s): Laura Barrie Smith, Michael Karpman, Dulce Gonzalez, Sarah Morriss
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Urban Institute
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Changes in Marketplace Premiums and Insurer Participation, 2022-2023
Examines changes in Affordable Care Act Health Insurance Marketplace premiums and insurer participation between 2022 and 2023. Reports on changes in average lowest silver premiums in the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces from 2019 to 2022 by state. Includes tables for select states with select urban and rural regional data.
Author(s): John Holahan, Erik Wengle, Claire O'Brien
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Urban Institute
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Inequitable Access to General and Behavioral Healthcare in the US During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Role for Telehealth?
Examines general and behavioral healthcare access and disparities during the first year of the pandemic, using data from the 2019–2020 U.S. National Alcohol Survey and its COVID follow-up survey conducted January 30 to March 28, 2021. Explores the role of telehealth in providing an important bridge to healthcare for certain medically underserved groups during the pandemic. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban and rural location.
Author(s): Nina Mulia, Yu Ye, Thomas K. Greenfield, et al.
Citation: Preventive Medicine, 169
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
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Health Care Coverage, Affordability, and Access Among Rural and Urban Adults Ages 50 to 64
Examines differences in healthcare coverage, affordability, and access trends among rural and urban adults aged 50-64 between 2012 and 2019. Explores possible factors driving healthcare coverage disparities. Offers policy recommendations to improve access to coverage and affordable healthcare among older adults, especially those in rural areas.
Author(s): Olivia Dean, Beth Carter, Robert C. Saunders, et al.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: AARP Public Policy Institute, KNG Health
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A Novel Cardio-Oncology Service Line Model in Optimizing Care Access, Quality and Equity for Large, Multi-Hospital Health Systems
Examines the impact of establishing an academic cardio-oncology service line model for a large, multi-hospital health system to improve access and equity, with rural populations as a primary focus. Discusses multidisciplinary approach, infrastructure elements, quality control, central governance, creation of protocols, and establishment of a cardio-oncology registry.
Author(s): Yan Liu
Citation: Cardio-Oncology, 9, 16
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
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Last Updated: 11/4/2024