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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Health Equity and COVID-19: The Impact of Rural Residence on COVID-19 Disparities
Policy brief discussing rural health disparities, social determinants of health, access to care, and COVID-19 impacts in rural Georgia. Compares rural and urban COVID-19 case and death rates, distribution of cases by race, and disparities in Black and Hispanic rural counties. Offers policy recommendations to address disparities.
Date: 05/2021
Sponsoring organization: Georgia Health Policy Center
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Broadband Data and Mapping: Background and Issues for the 117th Congress
Explores policy issues and challenges related to high-speed internet access, including federal agency roles in broadband mapping. Includes a section comparing urban and rural areas in terms of access to telecommunications and information technologies.
Date: 05/2021
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Law and Policy Pathways to Addressing Rising Youth Suicide Rates
Provides information on how to prevent death by suicide in different youth populations, including rural youth. Includes evidence-based suicide prevention strategies and ways to engage communities in prevention efforts.
Author(s): April Shaw
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organization: Network for Public Health Law
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Caring for American Indian and Alaska Native Children and Adolescents
Examines the influence of historical trauma and health inequities on the socioeconomic and health status of AI/AN youth. Discusses the disproportionate mental and cardiovascular health needs, and disease processes of AI/AN youth. Identifies strategies for culturally sensitive care to lessen morbidity, and makes policy recommendations supporting institutional and system changes for improving health outcomes.
Author(s): Bell. S., Deen, J.F., Fuentes, M., Moore, K.
Citation: Pediatrics, 147(4)
Date: 04/2021
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April 2021 MACPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission's (MACPAC) April 2021 meeting. Covers the review of draft chapters and recommendations regarding high-cost specialty drugs, improving integration through dual-eligible special needs plans (D-SNPs), access to mental health services for adults, access to behavioral health services for children and adolescents, electronic health records as a tool for behavioral health services integration, and the non-emergency medical transportation benefit. Also details lessons from states on rebalancing, ensuring quality in Medicaid and CHIP, and what states are learning from the expanded use of telehealth.
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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April 2021 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) April 2021 meeting. Covers Medicare's skilled nursing facility value-based purchasing program and proposed replacement, streamlining CMS's portfolio of alternative payment models, rebalancing the Medicare Advantage benchmark policy, revising Medicare's indirect medical education payments to better reflect teaching hospital costs, Medicare vaccine coverage and payment, and improving Medicare's policies for separately payable drugs in the hospital outpatient prospective payment system. Includes a discussion of training rural physicians, among other rural references.
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Examining the Potential for Additional Rebalancing of Long-Term Services and Supports
Explores efforts to rebalance long-term services and supports (LTSS) for older adults and people with disabilities toward home and community-based settings. Profiles five states with lower levels of rebalancing compared to the national average: Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Dakota, and West Virginia. Presents findings from interviews with federal and state officials, as well as other stakeholders involved with Medicaid LTSS systems and beneficiaries. Discusses how the COVID-19 public health emergency and flexibilities influenced LTSS services in these states. Offers future considerations for federal and state governments when addressing barriers to home and community-based services.
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organizations: Center for Health Care Strategies, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, RTI International
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Medicaid and Rural Health
Provides an overview of rural residents, including socioeconomic characteristics, insurance status, and health status. Explores the availability of healthcare providers in rural areas, with a focus on primary care providers and hospitals. Discusses the role of Medicaid in rural health, as well as Medicaid policies and services that are important for providing healthcare in rural communities.
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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The Road to Equity: Examining Structural Racism in Health Care
Recordings of a 2-day forum on health equity, structural racism in healthcare, and the role of federal agencies in responding to issues of inequity. Day 2 includes a presentation on rural-specific issues including health disparities, access to healthcare, facility closures and workforce issues.
Additional links: Day 1 Transcript, Day 2 Recording, Day 2 Transcript
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organization: CDC's Office of Minority Health
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Supporting and Sustaining Rural Hospitals
Describes state and federal actions to support and safeguard rural hospitals. Discusses appropriated funding opportunities for struggling hospitals, Medicaid coverage and eligibility, alternative payment models, and technical assistance programs.
Author(s): Noah Cruz
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organization: National Conference of State Legislatures
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