Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance
Barriers to Accessible and Affordable Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Care for Older Adults
Discusses challenges in accessing healthcare for mental health and substance use disorders for older adults. Challenges discussed include workforce shortages in rural areas, Medicare regulations, stigma, health insurance coverage, and more.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: AARP Public Policy Institute
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Discusses challenges in accessing healthcare for mental health and substance use disorders for older adults. Challenges discussed include workforce shortages in rural areas, Medicare regulations, stigma, health insurance coverage, and more.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: AARP Public Policy Institute
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Rural Health Symposium May 8-9, 2025: Advancing Rural Health Through Research, Policy, and Community Partnerships
Summarizes research presentations, panel discussions, and other proceedings of a May 2025 conference on rural health disparities hosted by the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and Dartmouth Health. Identifies factors contributing to rural health disparities and suggests actions to be taken by healthcare systems, community groups, policymakers, and researchers, among others.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Dartmouth Health, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice
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Summarizes research presentations, panel discussions, and other proceedings of a May 2025 conference on rural health disparities hosted by the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and Dartmouth Health. Identifies factors contributing to rural health disparities and suggests actions to be taken by healthcare systems, community groups, policymakers, and researchers, among others.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Dartmouth Health, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice
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Health Provisions in P.L. 119-21, the FY2025 Reconciliation Law
Provides an overview of the healthcare-related provisions of the July 2025 reconciliation law (Public Law 119-21). Offers detailed summaries of provisions that impact Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare, private health insurance, and rural health providers. Discusses the Rural Health Transformation Program.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Provides an overview of the healthcare-related provisions of the July 2025 reconciliation law (Public Law 119-21). Offers detailed summaries of provisions that impact Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare, private health insurance, and rural health providers. Discusses the Rural Health Transformation Program.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Trends in Hospital Administrative Costs: Urban–Rural Disparities, Barriers, and Reduction Strategies
Compares Medicare cost report data from 2011 and 2022 for over 4,400 rural and urban short-term acute care hospitals to identify shifts in administrative and general (A&G) spending. Discusses 3 themes related to cost growth, barriers in reporting, and strategies to manage and reduce costs. Describes implications for hospital policy.
Author(s): Lauree Handlon, Kit Simpson, Larry Leaming, Dunc Williams
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 3(8)
Date: 08/2025
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Compares Medicare cost report data from 2011 and 2022 for over 4,400 rural and urban short-term acute care hospitals to identify shifts in administrative and general (A&G) spending. Discusses 3 themes related to cost growth, barriers in reporting, and strategies to manage and reduce costs. Describes implications for hospital policy.
Author(s): Lauree Handlon, Kit Simpson, Larry Leaming, Dunc Williams
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 3(8)
Date: 08/2025
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Expanding Access to Integrated Medicare-Medicaid Programs in Rural Communities
Discusses the rural population who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and their unique physical health, mental health, and health-related social needs (HRSNs). Includes information on dual eligibility issues related to access, integrated care, and managed care infrastructure. Provides a literature review and stakeholder interview feedback focused on potential strategies to improve healthcare integration.
Author(s): Molly Knowles, Nida Joseph, Nancy Archibald, Ellen Breslin
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Discusses the rural population who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and their unique physical health, mental health, and health-related social needs (HRSNs). Includes information on dual eligibility issues related to access, integrated care, and managed care infrastructure. Provides a literature review and stakeholder interview feedback focused on potential strategies to improve healthcare integration.
Author(s): Molly Knowles, Nida Joseph, Nancy Archibald, Ellen Breslin
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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FY 2026 Medicare Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Prospective Payment System (IPF PPS) and Quality Reporting (IPFQR) Updates Final Rule (CMS-1831-F)
Fact sheet providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) fiscal year 2026 inpatient psychiatric facility (IPF) prospective payment system (PPS) final rule. Covers annual updates to the prospective payment rates, outlier threshold, and wage index. Also describes changes to facility-level adjustment factors for teaching status and rural location.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Fact sheet providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) fiscal year 2026 inpatient psychiatric facility (IPF) prospective payment system (PPS) final rule. Covers annual updates to the prospective payment rates, outlier threshold, and wage index. Also describes changes to facility-level adjustment factors for teaching status and rural location.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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2025 Indiana State Rural Health Report
Examines the state of rural health in Indiana and provides data on the health of rural citizens. Focuses on access, healthcare workforce shortages, health insurance, healthcare facilities availability, mobile health, telehealth services, maternal and infant health, mental health, substance use, and rural health finances and funding.
Author(s): Amnah Anwar, Kasia Hamman, Anureet Sandhu, et al.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: Indiana Rural Health Association
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Examines the state of rural health in Indiana and provides data on the health of rural citizens. Focuses on access, healthcare workforce shortages, health insurance, healthcare facilities availability, mobile health, telehealth services, maternal and infant health, mental health, substance use, and rural health finances and funding.
Author(s): Amnah Anwar, Kasia Hamman, Anureet Sandhu, et al.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: Indiana Rural Health Association
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Maternal and Child Health Services Title V Block Grant - Tennessee: FY 2025 Application/FY 2023 Annual Report
Describes Tennessee's maternal and child health programs, including issues related to closures of birthing hospitals, healthcare access in rural areas, family planning, childhood obesity, tobacco use, telehealth access, transportation, and more.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: Tennessee Department of Health
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Describes Tennessee's maternal and child health programs, including issues related to closures of birthing hospitals, healthcare access in rural areas, family planning, childhood obesity, tobacco use, telehealth access, transportation, and more.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: Tennessee Department of Health
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Rural Hospital Philanthropy: Community Awareness and Willingness to Donate to the Georgia Rural Hospital Tax Credit Program
Examines awareness of and willingness to participate in Georgia's Rural Hospital Tax Credit program, utilizing survey data of 940 people living in rural South Georgia communities served by eligible local hospitals. Includes data on associations between willingness to donate to rural hospitals and satisfaction with hospital quality, tax credit program awareness, and demographic factors such as household income and educational attainment. Discusses philanthropy as a source of financial support for rural hospitals.
Author(s): Linda Kimsey, Bettye A. Apenteng, Samuel T. Opoku, et al.
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 25, 980
Date: 07/2025
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Examines awareness of and willingness to participate in Georgia's Rural Hospital Tax Credit program, utilizing survey data of 940 people living in rural South Georgia communities served by eligible local hospitals. Includes data on associations between willingness to donate to rural hospitals and satisfaction with hospital quality, tax credit program awareness, and demographic factors such as household income and educational attainment. Discusses philanthropy as a source of financial support for rural hospitals.
Author(s): Linda Kimsey, Bettye A. Apenteng, Samuel T. Opoku, et al.
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 25, 980
Date: 07/2025
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The Impact of Rural Hospital Closures and Mergers on Health System Ecologies: A Scoping Review
Examines 46 studies on rural hospital closures and mergers between 2010 to 2023, with a focus on understanding health system impacts, finances, workforce, utilization, access to facilities and services, and community and economic well-being.
Author(s): Alison Coates, Janice Probst, Kanika Sarwal, Suhaib Riaz, Agnes Grudniewicz
Citation: Medical Care Research and Review, 82(5)
Date: 07/2025
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Examines 46 studies on rural hospital closures and mergers between 2010 to 2023, with a focus on understanding health system impacts, finances, workforce, utilization, access to facilities and services, and community and economic well-being.
Author(s): Alison Coates, Janice Probst, Kanika Sarwal, Suhaib Riaz, Agnes Grudniewicz
Citation: Medical Care Research and Review, 82(5)
Date: 07/2025
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