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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Many Rural Americans Are Still "Left Behind"
An overview of trends in rural poverty from 1959 through 2016. Discusses how rural and urban poverty are different. Highlights changes in education and employment and data on rural child poverty.
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: Institute for Research on Poverty
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Water Infrastructure: Technical Assistance and Climate Resilience Planning Could Help Utilities Prepare for Potential Climate Change Impacts
Examines federal technical and financial assistance to drinking and wastewater utilities for enhancing climate resilience. Discusses the needs of small and rural communities and identifies federal resources targeted to these areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Addressing Factors that Affect Health Care Costs: Recommendations for Indiana Stakeholders
Highlights the factors affecting healthcare costs in Indiana and makes recommendations to healthcare stakeholders, such as providers, policymakers, and consumers. Presents 16 factors that contribute to healthcare costs and discusses rural hospital closures.
Author(s): Nir Menachemi, Paul Halverson
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Policy, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
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Bringing it All Together for EMS in Wright County, Iowa
Video details how Wright County, Iowa, used supplemental Flex funding to solidify their emergency medical services (EMS). Highlights the way the county used the supplement funding to initiate a project to design a sustainable EMS program that provides coverage to the whole county.
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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A Public Health Emergency: State Efforts to Curb the Opioid Crisis
Presents the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the outcomes of public health efforts to combat the opioid crisis. Features testimony from representatives of the Rhode Island Department of Health, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, and the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: House Committee on Energy and Commerce
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Supporting the Mental Health Well-being of High School Students
Report evaluates the perceived need for school-based mental health services and the levels of access to those services by rural students and students of color. Bases results on surveys of high school students and makes corresponding recommendations. Compares the access to mental health services in rural, urban, and suburban schools.
Additional links: Infographic
Author(s): Michelle Croft, Shannon Hayes, Raeal Moore
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: ACT Center for Equity in Learning
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Expecting More: Addressing America's Maternal and Infant Health Crisis
Provides recording and witness testimony from the U.S. House of Representatives' Joint Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions and Workforce Protections Hearing on maternal mortality and disparities in maternal and infant care. Testimony includes some discussion of maternity care in rural areas.
Additional links: Joia Crear Perry Testimony, Stacey D. Stewart Testimony, Video of Hearing
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: U.S. House of Representatives
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Opioid Use Disorder: Barriers to Medicaid Beneficiaries' Access to Treatment Medications
Examines Medicaid beneficiaries' access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. Identifies state and federal policies that can impose barriers to MAT medications. Highlights how 3 states and the District of Columbia are addressing these barriers. Discusses challenges to medication deliveries to rural and small practices and access to addiction medicine providers in rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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340B Drug Discount Program: Oversight of the Intersection with the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program Needs Improvement
Examines state and federal efforts to prevent duplicate discounts under the 340B and Medicaid Drug Rebate Programs and identifies limitations and weaknesses in federal oversight. Provides recommendations to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Health Resources and Services Administration to strengthen oversight of these programs.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Vermont Rural Health Services Task Force: Act 26 of 2019, Report and Recommendations
Report details Vermont's rural healthcare delivery system. Highlights the financial, administrative, and workforce barriers that rural facilities face and suggests ways the state can overcome those barriers.
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organizations: Rural Health Services Task Force, State of Vermont: Green Mountain Care Board
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