Healthcare Access in Rural Communities – Resources
Selected recent or important resources focusing on Healthcare Access in Rural Communities.
Map Monday: Rural Hospitals Closing Their Doors
Map of rural hospital closures since 2005. Use the "switch view" drop down to see a mobile friendly version of the map.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: National Conference of State Legislatures
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Map of rural hospital closures since 2005. Use the "switch view" drop down to see a mobile friendly version of the map.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: National Conference of State Legislatures
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Rural Health Research Recap: Rural Behavioral Health Workforce
Summarizes recent research from Rural Health Research Centers examining numbers of social workers, psychologists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and counselors. Features statistics including percent of counties without behavioral health professionals from 2014-2021 and behavioral health professionals per 100,000 residents from 2014-2021, with breakdowns by urban or rural location and profession type.
Author(s): Jessica Rosencrans
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Research Gateway
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Summarizes recent research from Rural Health Research Centers examining numbers of social workers, psychologists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and counselors. Features statistics including percent of counties without behavioral health professionals from 2014-2021 and behavioral health professionals per 100,000 residents from 2014-2021, with breakdowns by urban or rural location and profession type.
Author(s): Jessica Rosencrans
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Research Gateway
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Reaching Out to People Who Live in Rural Areas about Medicaid and CHIP Renewals
Information and resources for communicating with people enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP about how to maintain health insurance coverage. Includes strategies specific to reaching people living in rural areas.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Information and resources for communicating with people enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP about how to maintain health insurance coverage. Includes strategies specific to reaching people living in rural areas.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Dual Barriers: Examining Digital Access and Travel Burdens to Hospital Maternity Care Access in the United States, 2020
Analyzes the relationship between drive time to hospital maternity units and access to digital/telehealth care in mitigating travel burden. Utilizes 2020 American Hospital Association Annual Survey data with information broken down by rural versus urban location, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and broadband and digital device access.
Author(s): Peiyin Hung, Marion Granger, Nansi Boghossian, et al.
Citation: The Milbank Quarterly, 101(4), 1327-1347
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Analyzes the relationship between drive time to hospital maternity units and access to digital/telehealth care in mitigating travel burden. Utilizes 2020 American Hospital Association Annual Survey data with information broken down by rural versus urban location, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and broadband and digital device access.
Author(s): Peiyin Hung, Marion Granger, Nansi Boghossian, et al.
Citation: The Milbank Quarterly, 101(4), 1327-1347
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Telemedicine Visits in US Skilled Nursing Facilities
Results of a study of telemedicine use in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), using data from over 4.4 million residents at 15,434 SNFs. Features statistics including characteristics of SNFs in the top quartile by telemedicine use in 2020 to 2021, with breakdowns by metropolitan, micropolitan, small urban, and rural areas, and state-level maps with shadings showing rates of telemedicine use in SNFs from 2019-2022.
Author(s): Agne Ulyte, Ateev Mehrotra, Andrew D. Wilcock, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(8)
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Results of a study of telemedicine use in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), using data from over 4.4 million residents at 15,434 SNFs. Features statistics including characteristics of SNFs in the top quartile by telemedicine use in 2020 to 2021, with breakdowns by metropolitan, micropolitan, small urban, and rural areas, and state-level maps with shadings showing rates of telemedicine use in SNFs from 2019-2022.
Author(s): Agne Ulyte, Ateev Mehrotra, Andrew D. Wilcock, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(8)
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Availability of Primary Care Safety Net Providers in Minoritized Racial/Ethnic Group Areas
Explores the availability of primary care safety net providers - Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) - nationwide across ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) categorized by rurality and racial and ethnic composition in 2020. Provides data on the median distance to any FQHC by ZCTA urban-rural status and minoritized ethnic and racial group (MRG) category, as well as the median distance to an RHC by MRG ZCTA status among rural ZCTAs.
Author(s): Melinda A. Merrell, Whitney E. Zahnd, Gabriel A. Benavidez, et al.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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Explores the availability of primary care safety net providers - Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) - nationwide across ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) categorized by rurality and racial and ethnic composition in 2020. Provides data on the median distance to any FQHC by ZCTA urban-rural status and minoritized ethnic and racial group (MRG) category, as well as the median distance to an RHC by MRG ZCTA status among rural ZCTAs.
Author(s): Melinda A. Merrell, Whitney E. Zahnd, Gabriel A. Benavidez, et al.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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Availability of Dialysis Facilities in Minoritized Racial/Ethnic Group Areas
Explores the availability of dialysis facilities nationwide across ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) categorized by rurality and racial and ethnic composition. Provides data on driving distances to the nearest dialysis facility by ZCTA rurality, minoritized ethnic and racial group category, and frontier and remote (FAR) designation.
Author(s): Janice C. Probst, Peiyin Hung, Gabriel Benavidez, Abbey Hunter, Jan M. Eberth
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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Explores the availability of dialysis facilities nationwide across ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) categorized by rurality and racial and ethnic composition. Provides data on driving distances to the nearest dialysis facility by ZCTA rurality, minoritized ethnic and racial group category, and frontier and remote (FAR) designation.
Author(s): Janice C. Probst, Peiyin Hung, Gabriel Benavidez, Abbey Hunter, Jan M. Eberth
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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A Consensus Panel Approach to Estimating the Start-Up and Annual Service Costs for Rural Ambulance Agencies
Policy brief exploring the costs of running ambulance services for 3 population-based service tiers. Establishes a minimum access standard for ambulances servicing a 25-minute travel time from the ambulance station, and enables policymakers and community stakeholders to develop strategic plans for the financing and provision of ambulance services. Features statistics on number of calls, population ranges of service areas, and fixed, depreciation, variable, and administrative costs.
Author(s): Yvonne Jonk, Gary Wingrove, Nikiah Nudell, Kevin McGinnis
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Policy brief exploring the costs of running ambulance services for 3 population-based service tiers. Establishes a minimum access standard for ambulances servicing a 25-minute travel time from the ambulance station, and enables policymakers and community stakeholders to develop strategic plans for the financing and provision of ambulance services. Features statistics on number of calls, population ranges of service areas, and fixed, depreciation, variable, and administrative costs.
Author(s): Yvonne Jonk, Gary Wingrove, Nikiah Nudell, Kevin McGinnis
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Distributional Analysis of Variation in Medicare Advantage Participation Within and Between Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Noncore Counties
Policy brief identifying penetration rates, number of plans, and enrollment patterns and trends in Medicare Advantage participation in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties from 2017-2022. Features statistics with breakdowns by year and metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas.
Author(s): Dan Shane, Ufuoma Ejughemre, Fred Ullrich, Keith Mueller
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Policy brief identifying penetration rates, number of plans, and enrollment patterns and trends in Medicare Advantage participation in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties from 2017-2022. Features statistics with breakdowns by year and metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas.
Author(s): Dan Shane, Ufuoma Ejughemre, Fred Ullrich, Keith Mueller
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Medicaid's Coverage Role in Small Towns and Rural Areas
Discusses the roles Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) play in providing health coverage to residents of small towns and rural areas. Presents data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) on the percentage of children and adults covered by Medicaid and CHIP in 2020-2021. Includes a list of the top 20 small towns and rural areas with the highest share of children and adults covered by Medicaid.
Author(s): Aubrianna Osorio, Joan Alker, Edwin Park
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Georgetown University Health Policy Institute
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Discusses the roles Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) play in providing health coverage to residents of small towns and rural areas. Presents data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) on the percentage of children and adults covered by Medicaid and CHIP in 2020-2021. Includes a list of the top 20 small towns and rural areas with the highest share of children and adults covered by Medicaid.
Author(s): Aubrianna Osorio, Joan Alker, Edwin Park
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Georgetown University Health Policy Institute
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Last Updated: 8/28/2024