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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health insurance

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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Medicaid: States' Use and Distribution of Supplemental Payments to Hospitals
Examines the use of disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments given to hospitals with more Medicaid and uninsured patients. Addresses differences in state Medicaid expansion status, uninsured percentage, and uncompensated care in relation to DSH payments. Includes state data on DSH payments and uncompensated care costs by rural/urban hospital location, as well as data on Critical Access Hospital (CAH) and Sole Community Hospital DSH payments by state.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Solutions to Reduce Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in HHS Programs: OIG's Top Recommendations
Annual report identifying the top 25 unimplemented recommendations from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) that, in their view, would have the most substantial positive impact on Health and Human Services (HHS) programs. Positive impact may refer to cost savings, program efficacy and efficiency, and/or quality improvement. Primary areas of interest in the July 2019 edition include: reforming the hospital wage index system, a quality program and disaster planning for Indian Health Service (IHS) hospitals, and Medicaid payments for 340B drugs.
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Markup of 26 Bills, Full Committee (July 17, 2019)
Recording of a U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce markup session of 26 bills. Addresses bills reauthorizing the National Health Service Corps, funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers, Medicaid funding for the U.S. territories, and other health-related bills.
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: U.S. House of Representatives
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