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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Home and community-based services

Addressing the Direct Care Workforce Shortage: A Bipartisan Call to Action
Report discusses direct care worker shortages throughout the country. Details shortages of home health aids, certified nursing assistants, and residential care aids, among other direct care workers, and makes recommendations for decreasing shortages. Highlights some of the added barriers faced by rural communities.
Author(s): Lisa Harootunian, Kamryn Perry, Allison Buffett, et al.
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center
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Section 1915(c) Waiver Program Participants in 2020
Presents data on the percentage and number of Medicaid enrollees who participated in a Section 1915(c) waiver program in 2020. Includes data on the share of enrollees who participated in a Section 1915(c) waiver program overall and by age, gender, race and ethnicity, urban or rural residence, Medicaid eligibility category, and dual eligibility status.
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Advancing Health Equity in Rural, Tribal, and Geographically Isolated Communities: FY2023 Year in Review
Summarizes Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) activities in fiscal year 2023 to advance health equity for people living in rural, tribal, and geographically isolated communities. Covers six priority focus areas: applying a community-informed geographic lens; increasing the collection and use of standardized data; strengthening and supporting healthcare professionals; optimizing medical and communication technology; expanding access to comprehensive healthcare coverage, benefits, and services and supports; and driving innovation and value-based care.
Date: 11/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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A Place to Thrive: Creating Opportunities to Age Well in North Carolina
Reports on North Carolina's aging population, and provides recommendations and strategies for improved health and livability for an aging population. Key topics include social and economic factors affecting older adults, the culture of aging, services and programs that support aging in place, and workforce supporting older adults' needs. Mentions rural population throughout as a disproportionately affected group.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Institute of Medicine
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MedPAC Payment Basics
Series of briefs providing an of Medicare payment systems. Covers payments systems including Accountable Care Organizations (ACO), Critical Access Hospitals (CAH), Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics, hospital acute inpatient services, and more.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Research Insight: How Do Workforce Challenges and Strategies Vary Across Area Agencies on Aging?
Report analyzing workforce data for Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) to identify connections between workforce challenges and organizational characteristics. Includes rural and urban comparisons.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USAging
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Arkansas State Plan on Aging: Fiscal Years 2024-2027
Provides direction for long-term care efforts in the state of Arkansas. Focuses on implementation of the Older American Act (OAA), COVID-19 recovery, equity, access to home and community-based services, and caregiving infrastructure. Highlights population data on rural Arkansas citizens and rural-specific priorities.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Arkansas Department of Human Services
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Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, June 2023
Semi-annual report to Congress from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC). Covers recommendations on disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments, care integration for people who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare, access to Medicaid coverage for adults leaving incarceration, and barriers to Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS). Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Purposefully Investing in the Tribal Home Visiting Workforce
Examines the Tribal Home Visiting workforce and the various programs that impact the well-being of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations. Includes stories from home visitor staff regarding their work with AI/AN populations, culturally sensitive programming, recruitment and retention strategies, and management of appropriate compensation and training opportunities for the home visiting workforce.
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Tribal Home Visiting
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The Value of Rural Independent Living
Presents a Photovoice project evaluating rural community outreach for Centers for Independent Living along the themes of inclusion, raising awareness, being in community, community connections, and rural community living and values.
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living, University of Montana: Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities
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