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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare needs and services

MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility PPS for FY 2020
Comments on an April 24, 2019, Federal Register proposed rule updating payments for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs) and IRF quality reporting. Addresses proposed changes to the wage index system that would adjust for geographical differences, potentially impacting rural areas.
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System, June 2019
Evaluates Medicare payment issues and offers recommendations to the U.S. Congress. Includes a chapter on access to primary care for Medicare beneficiaries that addresses rural access to care and programs supporting it, such as the National Health Service Corps. Other sections of the report addressing rural concerns focus on Medicare enrollment, changes in hospice and post-acute care after implementing the long-term care hospital dual payment-rate structure, and Medicare fee-for-service spending for emergency department services.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, June 2019
Semi-annual report to Congress from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC). Addresses the Medicaid Prescription Drug Program and Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments to safety-net hospitals, therapeutic foster care coverage, state efforts to improve Medicaid integrity, and challenges facing Medicaid in Puerto Rico.
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Assessment of Mortality and Smoking Rates Before and After Reduction in Community-Wide Prevention Programs in Rural Maine
Results of a study comparing smoking and mortality rates in Franklin County, Maine with other Maine counties, by 5-year intervals between 1970-2015. Features statistics including demographics, mortality rates, and income data.
Author(s): Daniel K. Onion, Roderick E. Prior, N. Burgess Record, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open 2(6), e195877
Date: 06/2019
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Access to Maternal Health Care in Rural Communities: A Patient's Personal Story
Offers a short video featuring a patient's story about accessing maternal healthcare in rural Iowa. Includes the perspective of the obstetrician/gynecologist who provided her care using a combination of telehealth and in-person visits from South Dakota, the closest facility offering the services she needed. Transcript available below description.
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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Life 'til the End: Hospice in Rural America
Describes the role of hospice in rural communities. Features a rural Iowa family sharing how hospice helped them care for their father at the end of his life. Also highlights a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) in Wisconsin that provides hospice care, explaining how this service supports the hospital's mission to provide care to the community.
Author(s): Tami Lichtenberg
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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The Doctor is Out. Rising Student Loan Debt and the Decline of the Small Medical Practice
Provides a recording of a hearing before the U.S. House Committee on Small Business regarding health profession school debt and the impact on specialization and practice decisions, particularly the reduction of sole practices in rural areas, and methods for addressing these issues. Includes testimony from representatives of the American Physical Therapy Association, American Association of Orthodontics, American College of Physicians, and American Enterprise Institute.
Additional links: Lauren Wiese Testimony, Sandra Norby Testimony, Tracey L. Henry Testimony, Video Recording
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: U.S. House of Representatives
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Analysis of Obesity Rates for School Children in Pennsylvania
Report details an analysis of child obesity in Pennsylvania. Compares rural and urban rates by year and considers family demographics, such as occupation, household income, insurance coverage, among other factors.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Hospitalizations for Newborns with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome - 2018
Examines newborn birth admissions involving neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in Pennsylvania general acute care hospitals from October 2017 through September 2018. Features statistics comparing NAS newborns with all other newborn stays in categories such as rates of complications by type, length of hospital stays, and payment by Medicaid, and NAS rate per 1,000 newborn stays with breakdown by rural or urban location. Includes a county-level map showing rates of NAS.
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council
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Investing in America's Health Care
Recording of a U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing on a wide variety of healthcare bills addressing funding for community health centers, teaching health centers, the National Health Service Corps, a tribal diabetes program, the National Quality Forum, Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments, and more. Includes testimony from Shasta Community Health Center, Vidant Health, SPAN Parent Advocacy Network, Medicare Rights Center, and others.
Additional links: C. Dean Germano Testimony, Diana Autin Testimony, Fred Riccardi Testimony, Michael Waldrum Testimony, Thomas Barker Testimony
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Health
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