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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health insurance

Medi-Cal Telehealth Updated Policy
Summarizes a California Department of Health Care Services telehealth policy update for the Medi-Cal fee-for-service program. Highlights key changes related to the definitions, reimbursable services, e-consults, and more.
Date: 08/2019
Sponsoring organization: Center for Connected Health Policy: The National Telehealth Policy Resource Center
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Examining Rural Cancer Prevention and Control Efforts: Policy Brief and Recommendations to the Secretary
Provides an overview of issues related to cancer in rural areas, including barriers to accessing cancer care. Describes federal programs that support and enhance national and rural cancer control efforts, including funding, and offers policy recommendations. Features statistics on average annual percent change in cancer mortality rates from 2006-2015, with breakdowns by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. Includes a U.S. map showing locations of cancer centers that received Rural Cancer Control Supplements grants in 2018.
Date: 08/2019
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Supportive Services and Caregiving for Older Rural Adults: Policy Brief and Recommendations to the Secretary
Provides an overview of current supportive services and caregiving policies for rural older adults, in terms of availability, accessibility, and acceptability of services. Explores topics including long-term services and supports, telehealth, care coordination, transportation, stigma, and unpaid caregivers, and describes federal programs for older adults. Offers policy recommendations and considerations.
Date: 08/2019
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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The Geography of Uninsurance in Massachusetts: An Update for 2013-2017
Identifies high-uninsurance communities in Massachusetts using three measures: uninsurance rate, number of uninsured, and concentration of uninsured. Describes socioeconomic characteristics of high-uninsurance communities and uninsured residents. Supplemental tables include data by county, county subdivision, place, and additional geographies.
Additional links: Full Report
Author(s): Michael Karpman, Dulce Gonzalez, Sharon K. Long
Date: 08/2019
Sponsoring organizations: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, Urban Institute
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Developing Risk-Adjusted Avoidable Hospitalizations and Emergency Department Visits Quality Measures: Final Report
Defines avoidable hospitalization (AH) and avoidable emergency department (ED) visits (AVs) and summarizes the development of a model for calculating expected AH and AV rates using Medicare claims data. Seeks to inform Medicare quality payment models and target areas for quality improvement. Table 3-10 includes AH and AV risk-standardized rates for a number of rural market areas.
Author(s): Zhanlian Feng, Benjamin Silver, Micah Segelman, et al.
Date: 08/2019
Sponsoring organizations: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, RTI International
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Addressing Rural Hospital Closures Through Infrastructure Reform
Provides a historical overview of rural Medicare reimbursement and provider designations and discusses their impact on hospital closures. Supports changing the rural health infrastructure to provide more flexibility for rural hospitals and to emphasize primary care and emergency care access.
Author(s): Eleni Salyers
Date: 08/2019
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center
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Understanding the Intersection of Medicaid and Work: What Does the Data Say?
Provides analysis on Medicaid enrollees and work requirements. Examines policy implications of work requirements, and explores barriers to work and reporting requirements. Table 1 includes statistics describing nonelderly adult Medicaid enrollees work status in 2017 by race/ethnicity, education, family type, family work status, and metro/nonmetro residence.
Author(s): Rachel Garfield, Robin Rudowitz, Kendal Orgera, Anthony Damico
Date: 08/2019
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Department of Health Care Services: It Has Not Ensured That Medi-Cal Beneficiaries in Some Rural Counties Have Reasonable Access to Care
Findings from a study to determine whether rural beneficiaries of the Medi-Cal Regional Model health plan were given acceptable access to care and adequate quality of care after the state transitioned into managed care plans in 2013. Includes county-level map showing Medi-Cal Managed Care Models and statistics showing maximum distance required to access care, with breakdowns by provider type.
Author(s): Elaine M. Howle
Citation: California State Auditor Report 2018-122
Date: 08/2019
Sponsoring organization: Auditor of the State of California
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2019 Medicaid and Commercial Access to Care Index: How Payer Type Influences Coloradans' Access to Needed Health Care
Provides information on healthcare access through both Medicaid and private insurers, as well as several other factors to determine whether the health needs of Colorado residents are being met. Measures improvement in healthcare access based on three components of access: potential access, barriers to care, and realized access. Features data breakdown by county.
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: Colorado Health Institute
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State-by-State Health Insurance Coverage among Women of Reproductive Age in 2017
Presents an interactive map with corresponding reports for each state highlighting the rates of insurance coverage for women of reproductive age. Breaks down data by age, race, marital status, metro and nonmetro, and compares state rates to U.S. rates. Offers national estimates and explanation of methodology in the National Update and Methods Appendix.
Additional links: National Update and Methods Appendix
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: Urban Institute
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