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: Healthcare business and finance

Medicaid Home- and Community-Based Services: Selected States' Program Structures and Challenges Providing Services
Examines the challenges states face in providing home- or community-based care instead of nursing home care under their state Medicaid programs, focusing on Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, Montana, and Oregon. Addresses program funding, workforce issues, eligibility and enrollment, populations targeted for the programs, use of managed care, and more. Includes rural considerations throughout.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2018
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Ensuring Access to Quality Health Care in Vulnerable Communities
Highlights the health characteristics and conditions of vulnerable populations in rural and urban communities, and the essential healthcare services as identified by the American Hospital Association Task Force on Ensuring Access in Vulnerable Communities. Discusses several strategies recommended by the task force to address social determinants of health, enhance virtual care services to reform healthcare delivery and payment methods, and support hospitals in their efforts to provide the needed health services.
Author(s): Jay Bhatt, Priya Bathija
Citation: Academic Medicine, 93(9), 1271-1275
Date: 09/2018
view details
Healthy Farmers, Prosperous Farms Video
Presents a video discussing the importance of health insurance in maintaining access to healthcare for farmers and their families. Details the rates of injuries for farmers and the risks that operating a farm without health insurance can pose to both the farmers themselves and their business.
Date: 09/2018
Sponsoring organization: Rural Maryland Council
view details
Veterans Choice Program: Further Improvements Needed to Help Ensure Timely Payments to Community Providers
Examines how long payments took for healthcare providers enrolled in the Veterans Choice Program and actions the Veterans Administration has taken to address these issues. The Veterans Choice Program was created to help increase veterans access to healthcare, particularly in rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2018
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Rural Hospital Closures: Number and Characteristics of Affected Hospitals and Contributing Factors
Examines rural hospital closures from 2013-2017, including their financial health, hospital characteristics, and the impact on healthcare access. Compares data to 2008-2012 closures and discusses the implications for federal healthcare policies. Addresses the role of Medicare rural hospital designations, new healthcare delivery and payment models, and other rural Health and Human Services (HHS) programs. Identifies the number of rural hospitals that closed for each state.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2018
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Uninsurance and Medicaid/CHIP Participation among Children and Parents: Variation in 2016 and Recent Trends
Examines insurance coverage for children and parents following state Medicaid expansions, with a focus on Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) participation. Includes metropolitan/nonmetropolitan comparisons. Discusses potential future policy impacts and the need for outreach and enrollment programs.
Author(s): Jennifer Haley, Genevieve M Kenney, Robin Wang, et al.
Date: 09/2018
Sponsoring organization: Urban Institute
view details
Hospital Mergers and Public Accountability: Tennessee and Virginia Employ a Certificate of Public Advantage
Examines how state officials can use the certificate of public advantage (COPA) to supervise hospital mergers to benefit the public, particularly in rural areas where mergers may be sought to address financial challenges. Focuses on a case study where officials in Tennessee and Virginia developed COPAs in response to a proposed rural hospital merger affecting both their states. Addresses the role of the states, their processes, and policy implications for other states.
Author(s): Erin C. Fuse Brown
Date: 09/2018
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
view details
The Indian Health Service Did Not Always Resolve Audit Recommendations in Accordance With Federal Requirements
Reports on the Indian Health Service's (IHS) failure to resolve audit recommendations in the allotted time for the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years. Details the number of recommendations resolved and the number past-due after the required 6-month period.
Additional links: Report in Brief
Date: 09/2018
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
view details
Health Care in Rural America: Examining Experiences and Costs
Provides a recording of a Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security meeting addressing rural healthcare challenges. Discusses healthcare access, workforce shortages, costs, reimbursement, care delivery issues, and potential solutions, such as telehealth.
Additional links: Alan Levine Testimony, Deborah Richter Testimony, Morgan Reed Testimony, Tom Glause Testimony
Date: 09/2018
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
view details
Health Insurance Coverage in Small Towns and Rural America: The Role of Medicaid Expansion
Analyzes health insurance coverage for low-income, rural adults in 46 states. Includes an examination of American Community Survey data to determine uninsured rates by age for 2008-2009 and 2015-2016. Covers effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in small towns and rural areas, including Medicaid expansion.
Additional links: Full Report, Update: State Data on Health Coverage in Small Towns and Rural Areas, 2015/16
Author(s): Jack Hoadley, Joan Alker, Mark Holmes
Date: 09/2018
Sponsoring organizations: Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
view details