Rural Health
Resources by State: Massachusetts
Evaluation of the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model: Final Report
Evaluates the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model, which tests the impact of providing financial incentives to home health agencies in nine states: Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington. Examines how the financial incentives under the model influenced agency behavior. Describes impacts across key outcomes, including service utilization, quality of care, and patient experience, and examines the model's effects on various access to care and Medicare spending issues. Explores whether the model had unique impacts on access to home health care in rural areas.
Additional links: Appendices, Findings at a Glance
Date: 09/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Arbor Research Collaborative for Health, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, L&M Policy Research
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Evaluates the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model, which tests the impact of providing financial incentives to home health agencies in nine states: Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington. Examines how the financial incentives under the model influenced agency behavior. Describes impacts across key outcomes, including service utilization, quality of care, and patient experience, and examines the model's effects on various access to care and Medicare spending issues. Explores whether the model had unique impacts on access to home health care in rural areas.
Additional links: Appendices, Findings at a Glance
Date: 09/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Arbor Research Collaborative for Health, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, L&M Policy Research
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Improving the Social Determinants of Health in Rural America Through Medicaid Section 1115 Waivers
Policy brief discussing how Medicaid Section 1115 waivers can allow states to modify the social determinants of health in rural areas through pilot programs, delivery system reform, or enhanced benefit packages. Highlights existing Section 1115 waiver programs and recently approved and renewed waivers, as well as challenges related to improving health-related social needs and access to services in rural areas. Offers policy recommendations to improve health equity in rural areas through Medicaid programs.
Author(s): Alexandra Zimmerman
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Policy brief discussing how Medicaid Section 1115 waivers can allow states to modify the social determinants of health in rural areas through pilot programs, delivery system reform, or enhanced benefit packages. Highlights existing Section 1115 waiver programs and recently approved and renewed waivers, as well as challenges related to improving health-related social needs and access to services in rural areas. Offers policy recommendations to improve health equity in rural areas through Medicaid programs.
Author(s): Alexandra Zimmerman
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Bridging the Digital Divide: Advancing Telehealth Equity
Describes the rise in telehealth use in Massachusetts since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and disparities in use across populations. Summarizes the access, quality, and experience factors associated with telehealth from the perspective of patients, providers, and community leaders. Identifies barriers and factors that promoted telehealth use. Offers recommendations for health plans to advance telehealth equity by addressing the root causes of the digital divide, promoting digital inclusion, removing structural and financial barriers to telehealth access, and supporting higher quality and more inclusive care delivery.
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organizations: Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, Massachusetts Health Quality Partners
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Describes the rise in telehealth use in Massachusetts since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and disparities in use across populations. Summarizes the access, quality, and experience factors associated with telehealth from the perspective of patients, providers, and community leaders. Identifies barriers and factors that promoted telehealth use. Offers recommendations for health plans to advance telehealth equity by addressing the root causes of the digital divide, promoting digital inclusion, removing structural and financial barriers to telehealth access, and supporting higher quality and more inclusive care delivery.
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organizations: Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, Massachusetts Health Quality Partners
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The Rural Opioid Initiative Consortium Description: Providing Evidence to Understand the Fourth Wave of the Opioid Crisis
Highlights an initiative aimed at developing interventions to address rural opioid use. Collects data from rural areas in 10 states via surveys of people who use drugs and explores overlapping issues, such as other drug use, homelessness, and lack of access to treatment, among others.
Author(s): Richard A. Jenkins, Bridget M. Whitney, Robin M. Nance, et al.
Citation: Addiction Science and Clinical Practice, 17, 38
Date: 07/2022
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Highlights an initiative aimed at developing interventions to address rural opioid use. Collects data from rural areas in 10 states via surveys of people who use drugs and explores overlapping issues, such as other drug use, homelessness, and lack of access to treatment, among others.
Author(s): Richard A. Jenkins, Bridget M. Whitney, Robin M. Nance, et al.
Citation: Addiction Science and Clinical Practice, 17, 38
Date: 07/2022
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Evaluation of the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model: Fifth Annual Report
Evaluates the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model, which tests the impact of providing financial incentives to home health agencies in nine states: Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington. Reports on the experiences of home health agencies and patients through 2020, the fifth performance year of the HHVBP Model, and the third year that agencies in the HHVBP states received a payment adjustment. Examines the impacts of the HHVBP Model on Medicare expenditures, healthcare utilization, quality of care and patient experience, and agency operations. Discusses rural access to high-quality home health agencies and the impact of HHVBP on rural home health patients.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance, Technical Appendices
Author(s): Alyssa Pozniak, Marc Turenne, Eric Lammers, et al.
Date: 04/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Evaluates the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model, which tests the impact of providing financial incentives to home health agencies in nine states: Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington. Reports on the experiences of home health agencies and patients through 2020, the fifth performance year of the HHVBP Model, and the third year that agencies in the HHVBP states received a payment adjustment. Examines the impacts of the HHVBP Model on Medicare expenditures, healthcare utilization, quality of care and patient experience, and agency operations. Discusses rural access to high-quality home health agencies and the impact of HHVBP on rural home health patients.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance, Technical Appendices
Author(s): Alyssa Pozniak, Marc Turenne, Eric Lammers, et al.
Date: 04/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Rural Community Health Initiative: Compendium of Best Practices
Presents a collection of community-based health initiatives, including a school health initiative, a COVID-19 vaccine outreach and education program, and telehealth consortia, among others. Describes successful outcomes and sources of funding for each program.
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Presents a collection of community-based health initiatives, including a school health initiative, a COVID-19 vaccine outreach and education program, and telehealth consortia, among others. Describes successful outcomes and sources of funding for each program.
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Opioid Initiation and Injection Transition in Rural Northern New England: A Mixed-methods Approach
Highlights a study on opioid initiation and transition to opioid injection in rural New England. Bases findings on interviews with opioid users in 11 rural counties in Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Tracks the time and circumstances of first opioid use to first opioid injection.
Author(s): Kerry Nolte, Aurora L. Drew, Peter D. Friedmann, et al.
Citation: Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 217(1), 108256
Date: 12/2020
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Highlights a study on opioid initiation and transition to opioid injection in rural New England. Bases findings on interviews with opioid users in 11 rural counties in Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Tracks the time and circumstances of first opioid use to first opioid injection.
Author(s): Kerry Nolte, Aurora L. Drew, Peter D. Friedmann, et al.
Citation: Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 217(1), 108256
Date: 12/2020
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Telebehavioral Health: An Effective Alternative to In-Person Care
Issue brief discussing telehealth treatment modalities based on a 2019 review of clinical outcomes related to telebehavioral health. Covers three state-level approaches: the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center Rural Telemental Health Program (VA RTMH), which serves rural Oregon veterans, and Medicaid policies in Texas and Massachusetts. Addresses telebehavioral health policy details, implementation, and considerations for states looking to develop new telebehavioral health policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Author(s): Brittany Lazur, Lily Sobolik, Valerie King
Date: 10/2020
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
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Issue brief discussing telehealth treatment modalities based on a 2019 review of clinical outcomes related to telebehavioral health. Covers three state-level approaches: the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center Rural Telemental Health Program (VA RTMH), which serves rural Oregon veterans, and Medicaid policies in Texas and Massachusetts. Addresses telebehavioral health policy details, implementation, and considerations for states looking to develop new telebehavioral health policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Author(s): Brittany Lazur, Lily Sobolik, Valerie King
Date: 10/2020
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
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Addressing Opioid Use in Rural Communities: Examples from Critical Access Hospitals
Highlights strategies adopted by Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to combat opioid use in their communities. Describes lessons learned from the featured CAHs regarding the development and implementation of projects targeting opioid use. Identifies ways that State Flex Programs and State Offices of Rural Health can support the efforts of CAHs in addressing opioid use in their communities. Provides list of opioid-related resources for CAHs and State Flex Programs.
Author(s): John Gale, Sara Kahn-Troster, Karen Pearson, Nathan First
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Highlights strategies adopted by Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to combat opioid use in their communities. Describes lessons learned from the featured CAHs regarding the development and implementation of projects targeting opioid use. Identifies ways that State Flex Programs and State Offices of Rural Health can support the efforts of CAHs in addressing opioid use in their communities. Provides list of opioid-related resources for CAHs and State Flex Programs.
Author(s): John Gale, Sara Kahn-Troster, Karen Pearson, Nathan First
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Community Resilience Building Workshop - Northern Hilltowns Collaborative: Summary of Findings for the Towns of Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, and Worthington, MA
An overview of how four rural communities in western Massachusetts developed a municipal vulnerability preparedness (MVP) plan to improve their resilience to the increased frequency of natural and climate-related hazards. With funding from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, a series of workshops were held to engage the four communities in planning and implementing a climate change action plan. Discusses common community concerns and challenges related to transportation and communication services, power outages, drinking water, and waste management.
Date: 02/2020
Sponsoring organization: Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
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An overview of how four rural communities in western Massachusetts developed a municipal vulnerability preparedness (MVP) plan to improve their resilience to the increased frequency of natural and climate-related hazards. With funding from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, a series of workshops were held to engage the four communities in planning and implementing a climate change action plan. Discusses common community concerns and challenges related to transportation and communication services, power outages, drinking water, and waste management.
Date: 02/2020
Sponsoring organization: Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
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