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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Evaluation of the Million HeartsĀ® Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model: Second Annual Report
Evaluates the first two years of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model to determine whether, and how, it reduces first-time strokes, heart attacks, and Medicare spending. Covers participant characteristics, including rural or urban status and organization type; implementation of the model; short- and long-term impacts on beneficiaries; and the potential mechanisms that may explain observed impacts.
Author(s): Greg Peterson, Linda Barterian, Keith Kranker, et al.
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mathematica Policy Research
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Oversight Hearing on "Recognizing the Sacrifice: Honoring a Nation's Promise to Native Veterans" & Legislative Hearing to Receive Testimony on S. 1001 & S. 2365
Presents the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs oversight hearing on the Tribal Veterans Health Care Enhancement Act and the Health Care Access for Urban Native Veterans Act. Features testimony from representatives from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, and the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes.
Date: 11/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
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HIV/AIDS in Rural America
Webinar recording discussing a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the HIV incidence across the country, an HHS initiative to combat the spread of HIV, and distribution of Ryan White HIV/AIDS providers in rural areas. Features presentations from representatives from the CDC, HRSA, and Medical Advocacy and Outreach.
Additional links: Audio Recording, PowerPoint Handout, Webinar Transcript
Date: 11/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Reviewing the Broken Promises Report: Examining the Chronic Federal Funding Shortfalls in Indian Country
Video recording and testimony from a November 19, 2019 House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States hearing focused on the U.S. Commission on Human Rights report Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans, which evaluated federal spending on Native American programs.
Additional links: GAO Testimony
Date: 11/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States
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Intergovernmental Advisory Committee to the Federal Communications Commission Advisory Recommendation No: 2019-2 in the Matter of State, Local Tribal, and Territorial Regulatory and Other Barriers and Incentives to Telemedicine
Examines the technical infrastructure necessary for effective telemedicine delivery in state, territorial, tribal, and local (rural and urban) areas. Discusses the regulatory barriers including legislation, licensing, reimbursement, malpractice insurance, and privacy that obstruct its development and utilization, and offers recommendations addressing these barriers. Appendix A presents case studies of broadband and telehealth development in several states and territories.
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Federal Communications Commission, Intergovernmental Advisory Committee to the Federal Communications Commission
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The Development of Telehealth Laws in the U.S. from 2008 to 2015: A Legal Landscape
Policy brief examining the scope and evolving nature of telehealth statutes and regulations in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Explores the extent to which state laws regulate primary care delivery through use of telehealth. Features U.S. maps showing changes from 2008 to 2015 in terms of various types of telehealth-related laws, including those governing insurance coverage, and statistics with breakdowns by the top 25 and bottom 25 rural states.
Author(s): Cason D. Schmit, Alva O. Ferdinand, Timothy Callaghan, et al.
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
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Rural Hospitals: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
Describes the conditions facing rural hospitals and their communities contributing to the high rate of rural hospital closure. Discusses state and federal legislation, policies, and programs developed to support rural hospitals. Provides data for 15 Southern states including their state and rural populations, percentage of population uninsured, Medicaid expansion status, percentage at high financial risk, and number of rural hospital closures.
Author(s): Nick Bowman
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Southern Legislative Conference of The Council of State Governments
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Promoting Maternal Health in Rural and Underserved Areas
Examines reasons for the rural obstetrical care crisis and discusses how public policy and technological innovation can improve healthcare quality and access in rural America. Includes sections on scope-of-practice restrictions and policy barriers to telemedicine's broad implementation.
Author(s): Darcy Nikol Bryan
Date: 10/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Mercatus Center, George Mason University
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Strategic Options for the Modernization of the Indian Health Service Health Information Technology: Final Report
Identifies recommended approaches and next steps for modernizing the Indian Health Service use of health information technology (HIT). Addresses the needs of both patients and the health workforce that will use the system, as well as governance and a variety of technological issues. Lists constraints to HIT modernization along with proposed mitigations for those constraints.
Additional links: Roadmap: Executive Summary
Date: 10/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Telecommunications: FCC Should Take Additional Action to Manage Fraud Risks in Its Program to Support Broadband Service in High-Cost Areas
Examines the funding reforms and fraud controls implemented by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for small, rural telecommunications carriers, identified as "rate-of-return carriers". Includes recommendations to the FCC supporting fraud risk management, regular assessments, and newly designed strategies. Appendix I identifies key elements of a fraud-risk management assessment process.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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