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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Legislation and regulations

Successful Non-Congregate Meal Service Models for Rural Areas: Implementation Guide (2024 Update)
Provides models that inform implementation of non-congregate meal services in rural areas. Includes background on policy decisions and legislative definitions.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: No Kid Hungry
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Home Cooked: A 50-Year History of Meth in America
Podcast series presents a discussion on the history of the use, production, and proliferation of methamphetamine in the U.S. The 5-episode series explores how the social perception of meth in America compares with the reality of its use throughout the 20th and 21st centuries and how this has affected rural communities.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organizations: Rural Assembly, The Daily Yonder
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Home Cooked: A 50-Year History of Meth in America - Ep. 3: Lab School
Podcast series presents a discussion on the history of the use, production, and proliferation of methamphetamine in the U.S. Episode 3 discusses the home meth lab surge in the rural Midwest and how this changed the distribution and policing of the illicit meth market.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organizations: Rural Assembly, The Daily Yonder
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Home Cooked: A 50-Year History of Meth in America - Ep. 2: Made in the U.S.A.
Podcast series presents a discussion on the history of the use, production, and proliferation of methamphetamine in the U.S. Episode 2 discusses the history of legal methamphetamine production and use in the 1930s and follows the drug's production and distribution post-criminalization.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organizations: Rural Assembly, The Daily Yonder
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Addressing the Shortage of Direct Care Workers: Insights from Seven States
Brief assessing efforts for strengthening and identifying federal policy opportunities related to the direct care workforce through interviews with 20 stakeholders in 7 states. Discusses federal funding, collaboration, workforce pipelines, equity, credentials, training, family caregivers, and home- and community-based services. Discusses rural throughout.
Author(s): Barbara Lyons, Molly O'Malley Watts
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Mandated Report: Rural Emergency Hospitals: Chapter 15
Provides an overview of the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) designation. Discusses the evolution of Medicare's support for rural hospitals through payment policies and the impact of declining inpatient volumes on rural hospitals' financial sustainability. Describes the characteristics of hospitals that converted to REH status in 2023, the first year of the designation.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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The 340B Drug Pricing Program: A Small Part of the Prescription Drug Market, Delivering Large Benefits to Patients and Communities
Analyzes impacts of the 340B Drug Pricing Program on access, hospital finance, drug companies, and public expenditures. Discusses how the 340B program is shaped by legislation, policy, finance, prescribing patterns, and market influences. Highlights rural and underserved communities throughout.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Inflation Reduction Act Research Series: Projected Impacts for Rural Medicare Enrollees
Provides an overview of how the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is intended to improve prescription drug affordability for Medicare enrollees. Describes Medicare enrollment in rural areas and rural residents' health status and access to care. Outlines the projected impact of drug-related IRA provisions for rural Medicare beneficiaries, including the expansion of financial assistance through the low-income subsidy program, out-of-pocket spending caps for insulin, changes in Part D benefit design, and more.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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The Future of the Universal Service Fund and Related Broadband Programs
Provides an overview of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF) and its four programs: the High Cost Program, Lifeline Program, Rural Health Care Program, and Schools and Libraries Program. Describes legislation introduced in the 118th Congress that would impact the USF programs. Outlines considerations for Congress and five areas for possible reform.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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What Does It Mean to Be a Rural Emergency Hospital? Hear This Kansas CEO's Journey to An REH
Recording of a February 8, 2024, webinar discussing the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) program. Provides an overview of the REH designation, policy and regulatory requirements, REH Technical Assistance Center (TAC) services, and REH conversion timeline. Features a discussion with Jeff Bowman, Chief Executive Officer of South Central Kansas Medical Center, regarding the facility's conversion to REH status.
Additional links: Presentation Slides
Date: 02/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Redesign Center
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