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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Texas Medicaid Managed Care Provider Network Adequacy Report, 2024
Reports information and statistics on managed care organizations (MCOs) and their obligations to provide access to services for Medicaid members in Texas. Discusses MCO contractual obligations and performance related to geography throughout, with breakdowns by metro, micro, and rural area.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Texas Health and Human Services
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2024 Broadband/Internet Availability Survey Report
Presents findings of a survey capturing rural broadband and internet availability data as reported by 228 internet companies that responded to NTCA's survey. Describes technologies used to provide broadband services, broadband availability and subscription rates, anchor institutions, network deployment progress, supply chain challenges, barriers to widespread fiber deployment, and more.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: NTCA: The Rural Broadband Association
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Medicare Could save Billions with Comparable Access for Enrollees If Critical Access Hospital Payments for Swing-Bed Services Were Similar to Those of the Fee-for-Service Prospective Payment System
Describes the use of swing beds for skilled nursing services at Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and average daily Medicare reimbursement for these services from 2015 through 2020. Examines data from a sample of 100 CAHs to determine whether Medicare enrollees would have had access to the same skilled nursing services provided by CAHs at alternative facilities within a 35-mile driving distance. Compares the average daily reimbursement for skilled nursing services at CAHs and alternative facilities, as well as the potential savings to Medicare if CAHs were reimbursed for skilled nursing services under the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS).
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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2024 Research Report: Collaborative on Economic Mobility
Provides a landscape analysis of the Collaborative on Economic Mobility (CEM) cooperative agreement, which focuses on the implementation and strengthening of economic mobility practices. Discusses issues such as social inequities, early childhood education, healthcare access, family and community services, workforce development, policy, housing, transportation, and more. Includes consideration of rural communities, with comparisons of rural versus nonrural employment growth.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: ACF Office of Community Services
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Women Veterans Health Care in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: A Report of the Task Force
Reports on the quality of and access to health care and mental health services for women veterans in Pennsylvania. Explores barriers that women veterans encounter, including eligibility requirements, military sexual trauma, lack of community support systems, and lack of childcare. Mentions rural throughout.
Additional links: Summary
Author(s): Allison Kobzowicz, Stephen J. Kramer, Caitlyn Christie, Wendy L. Baker
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Joint State Government Commission, General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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Select Committee on Advancing Rural and Small Town Health Care Final Report - To the General Assembly of Virginia
Recommendations for improvement in healthcare in rural Virginia, based on information from meetings with providers and citizens in rural areas. Areas of focus are health workforce, maternal health, dental care, obesity, telehealth, and transportation.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Commonwealth of Virginia, House Select Committee on Advancing Rural and Small Town Health Care
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Mapping Geographic Access to Illinois Birthing Hospitals, 2016–2023
Examines geographic access to birthing hospitals between 2016 to 2023 for women of reproductive age in Illinois. Includes maps showing driving times to hospitals and closed hospitals in the state, as well as changing levels of access for rural and urban women.
Author(s): Barbara C. Keino, Mechelle D. Claridy, Laurin Kasehagen, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 21
Date: 12/2024
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Disparities and Gaps in Breast Cancer Screening for Women Aged 40 to 49 Years
Analyzes disparities in breast cancer screening among women aged 40 to 49 years, utilizing National Health Interview Survey data for the years 2019 and 2021. See included Figure and Table for rural-urban comparisons.
Author(s): Tianshu Gu, Jing Yuan, Shelley White-Means, Minghui Li
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(12), e2451827
Date: 12/2024
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The Role of Relaxed Telehealth Policy on Health Equity in Telehealth Utilization and Outcomes During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency: A Living Systematic Review
Outlines the findings from living systematic reviews to describe the evidence measuring the association between telehealth use during the COVID-19 pandemic and health equity. Research questions include comparisons between telehealth use in rural and urban areas.
Author(s): Nicholas M. Mohr, J. Priyanka Vakkalanka, Lauren Lavin, et al.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Rural Telehealth Research Center
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Dental Clinic Deserts in the US: Spatial Accessibility Analysis
Provides a spatial analysis of 205,762 active U.S. dentists and examines access to dental clinics cross the country. Includes maps that show county-level dental shortages as well as demographic breakdowns of residents, such as race/ethnicity, poverty, insurance status, rurality, and more.
Author(s): Shahinoor Rahman, Jeffrey C. Blossom, Ichiro Kawachi, Renuka Tipirneni, Hawazin W. Elani
Citation: JAMA Health Forum, 7(12)
Date: 12/2024
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