This website is being reviewed for updates. Some information is offline. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health insurance

National Rural Health Day Webinar: CMS Framework for Advancing Health Care
Recording of a November 15, 2022, webinar providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) Framework for Advancing Health Care in Rural, Tribal and Geographically Isolated Communities. Discusses the CMS Framework for Health Equity and identifies other rural health resources, including other recent CMS rural health reports.
Additional links: Presentation Slides, Transcript
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details
Clarity for Rural Emergency Hospitals and Changes for Critical Access Hospitals: CMS Finalizes Conditions of Participation and Payment and Enrollment Policies But Pauses Stark Law Flexibilities
Provides an overview of the Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs) provisions of the Calendar Year 2023 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System Final Rule. Discusses REH reimbursement, Conditions of Participation (CoPs), enrollment provisions, and Stark Law regulatory modifications to accommodate REHs. Highlights changes to the definition of "primary roads" related to Critical Access Hospital (CAH) CoPs.
Author(s): Emily Jane Cook, Caroline Reignley, Amber Arnold, Sandra M. DiVarco
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organization: McDermott Will & Emery
view details
Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics Demonstration Program: Report to Congress, 2021
Provides an overview of the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) demonstration. Offers a summary of the findings from the prior annual reports on the CCBHC demonstration, a comparison of cost and quality in the first two demonstration years, and the results of impact analyses. This is the fifth annual report to Congress on the CCBHC demonstration.
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Mathematica
view details
State Medicaid Telehealth Policies Before and During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency: 2022 Update
Examines state Medicaid telehealth coverage, policies, and utilization before and after the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). Describes the types of Medicaid services that were allowed to be delivered by telehealth and the types of telehealth modality covered before the PHE, in May 2020, and in January 2022. Outlines the status of state Medicaid telehealth flexibilities based on state executive orders and Medicaid agency guidance. Builds on a July 2021 analysis of state Medicaid telehealth coverage, policies, and utilization before and after the COVID-19 PHE.
Author(s): Jacquelyn Rudich, Ann B. Conmy, Rose C. Chum, et al
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
view details
National Rural Health Day 2022: Dr. Roxie Wells Talks Hospital Resilience in the Face of Change
Conversation with Dr. Roxie Wells, president of Cape Fear Valley Hoke Hospital, on rural hospital resiliency. Describes the most pressing needs of the Hoke County, North Carolina, community; Cape Fear Valley Hoke Hospital's primary areas of action to address those needs; and the most significant threats the hospital faces to improve community health. Discusses how AHA has helped the hospital successfully confront these challenges.
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
view details
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
view details
Fifth Evaluation Report: Next Generation Accountable Care Organization Model Evaluation
Reports on changes to the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization (NGACO) Model in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). Presents information on cumulative model-wide impacts on Medicare spending, utilization, and quality of care, as well as impacts observed in 2020, the model's fifth performance year. The appendices include data on community characteristics, including rurality.
Additional links: Technical Appendices
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NORC at the University of Chicago
view details
Health Care Access and Use Among Adults With and Without Vision Impairment: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2018
Analyzes insurance status, access to usual source of care, healthcare utilization, and unmet healthcare needs due to cost among adults with vision impairment. Utilizes 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data to examine 426,302 adults by age, sex, race/ethnicity, poverty level, health status and behaviors, disability type, U.S. region and territory, and metropolitan or nonmetropolitan status.
Author(s): Qi Cheng, Catherine A. Okoro, Isabel Mendez, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 19
Date: 11/2022
view details
CMS Framework for Advancing Health Care in Rural, Tribal, and Geographically Isolated Communities
Report outlines the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plan for improving health equity and health outcomes across the U.S. for rural, tribal, and geographically isolated communities. Details a 6 priority framework emphasizing the application of a community-informed geographic lens; the collection and use of standardized data; support for healthcare professionals; the optimization of medical and communication technology; the expansion of access to comprehensive healthcare coverage, benefits, and services and supports; and innovation and value-based care. Highlights examples of activities CMS is undertaking in support of each priority and recent CMS efforts that align with each priority.
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details
2022 Rural-Urban Disparities in Health Care in Medicare
Examines rural/urban differences in the quality of healthcare received by Medicare beneficiaries in 2021, with breakdowns by race and ethnicity. Focuses on patient experience and clinical care measures, including screening for and management of health conditions and medication-related issues.
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details