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Healthcare Access in Rural Communities – Resources

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

Medicaid Coverage in Metro and Small Town/Rural Counties, 2020-2021
Presents county-level data for children and non-elderly adults insured by Medicaid in 2020-2021.
Date: 05/2023
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: Georgetown University Health Policy Institute
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Rural Healthy People 2030: Common Challenges, Rural Nuances
Policy brief focused on Rural Healthy People 2030, a companion piece to the Healthy People 2030 initiative with a focus on health priorities of rural populations. Features rural stakeholder perspectives on the top 20 Rural Healthy People priorities with breakdowns by census region, Medicaid expansion status, gender, age, race, and field of employment.
Author(s): Morgan Kassabian, Aakriti Shrestha, Timothy Callaghan, et al.
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
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Improving Health Care Access in Rural Communities: Obstacles and Opportunities
Presents the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Subcommittee on Health Care hearing on improving access to high-quality, affordable healthcare in rural communities. Discusses workforce issues, education pipeline, transportation, broadband, school-based health centers, payment models and value-based care, and rural-friendly policies. Features testimonies from representatives of Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital, Choptank Community Health System, Essentia Health, and the Sheps Center For Health Services Research.
Additional links: Testimony by David Herman, Testimony by Erin Aune, Testimony by Mark Holmes, Testimony by Sara Rich
Date: 05/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Finance, Subcommittee on Health Care
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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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The National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics (NAFC) Data Report 2023
Reports on 2022 activities of clinics and pharmacies that are members of the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics (NAFC). Includes information on patient demand and demographics, workforce, services offered, financial data, social determinants of health (SDOH) screenings, and more. Provides rural-specific data on patient usage, type and location of facilities, and government-funded special groups.
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: The National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics
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Additional resources are available related to this guide. See the full list of resources by topic for:


Last Updated: 5/23/2024