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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Compendium of Unimplemented Recommendations: December 2012 Edition
Annual report identifying the top 25 unimplemented recommendations from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) that, in OIG's view, would have the most substantial positive impact on Health and Human Services (HHS) programs. Positive impact may refer to cost savings, program efficacy and efficiency, and/or quality improvement. Primary area of interest in the December 2012 edition relates to reducing excess Medicare spending by eliminating or limiting hospital bad debt payments and revising the rules and regulations governing the Rural Health Clinic (RHC) program.
Date: 12/2012
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Options for Rural Health Care System Reform and Redesign
Examines options for rural healthcare infrastructure in a changing health care environment and reflects on previous work around the Affordable Care Act. Includes a discussion of the Frontier Extended Stay Clinic (FESC) and Frontier Community Health Integration Project (F-CHIP).
Date: 12/2012
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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The Need to Integrate Work Programs for Low-Income Rural Residents
Examines issues and opportunities associated with integration of workforce programs in rural communities. Discusses opportunities for the Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services to collaborate to serve low-income rural residents.
Date: 12/2012
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Implications of Proposed Changes to Rural Hospital Payment Designations
Discusses the short-term policy implications of proposed changes to the designation and payment guidelines for small rural hospitals. Focuses on proposed changes to rural Medicare payments for hospitals and physicians, as well as a proposal to change the CAH distance requirements.
Date: 12/2012
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Challenges to Head Start and Early Childhood Development Programs in Rural Communities
Discusses regulatory challenges to providing quality early childhood development programs and services in rural communities. Includes a discussion of health screenings, provider training and resources, and policy recommendations to improve collaboration surrounding early childhood programs in rural communities.
Date: 12/2012
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Culture as a Social Determinant of Health
Describes the role that culture plays in health for Native Americans. Discusses the importance of cultural competence for healthcare providers, and includes recommendations for healthcare providers and policymakers.
Author(s): James Knibb-Lamouche
Date: 11/2012
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Poverty, Housing, and the Rural Slum: Policies and the Production of Inequities, Past and Present
Discusses the history of rural, low-income housing in California's San Joaquin Valley and the role of labor, housing, and public health policies within these communities. Details the historical challenges facing immigrant farmworkers and the contributing factors that enabled the creation of rural slums in that area.
Author(s): Sarah M. Ramirez, Don Villarejo
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 102(9), 1664-1675
Date: 09/2012
Type: Document
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Growth and Changes in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Workforce with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Studied how additional supplemental funding to the National Health Service Corps through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was focused on granting more loan repayment awards to clinicians who agreed to work in underserved areas, affected the NHSC's workforce. States that proportions of the NHSC's workforce serving in rural areas changed only modestly.
Author(s): Donald E. Pathman, Thomas R. Konrad
Citation: Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 25(5), 723-733
Date: 09/2012
Type: Document
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The Current and Future Role and Impact of Medicaid in Rural Health
Describes the Medicaid program and its importance for rural people, providers, and communities. Addresses its impact on rural insurance coverage, financial support for rural healthcare providers, and its contribution to local economics. Discusses rural implications of program expansion, including whether and how states choose to implement changes.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller, Andrew F. Coburn, Jennifer P. Lundblad, et al.
Date: 09/2012
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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School-Based Health Centers in an Era of Health Care Reform: Building on History
Presents the history and growth of school-based health centers (SBHCs) in the U.S. Discusses the effect of SBHCs on delivering needed services to students from kindergarten to high school, including rural students. Includes suggestions for future use of SBHCs and for healthcare providers working in communities without a SBHC.
Author(s): Victoria Keeton, Samira Soleimanpour, Claire D. Brindis
Citation: Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care, 42(6), 132–158
Date: 07/2012
Type: Document
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