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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Medicaid and Its Importance to Rural Health
Presents an overview of the impact that Medicaid has on rural health. Covers the role of Medicaid in rural areas as a source of health insurance, as a revenue source for rural providers, and as a contributor to the community by supporting its health care system and local economy.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller, Andrew F. Coburn, A. Clinton MacKinney, et al.
Date: 05/2006
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Medicare Hospital Pharmaceuticals: Survey Shows Price Variations and Highlights Data Collection Lessons and Outpatient Rate-Setting Challenges for CMS
Analyzes Medicare specified covered outpatient drugs (SCOD) price variation across hospitals. Includes information on prices paid by rural hospitals compared to urban hospitals.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2006
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2006
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Discussions of rural aspects of Medicare payment policies are included throughout the report.
Date: 03/2006
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Hospital Quality Data: CMS Needs More Rigorous Methods to Ensure Reliability of Publicly Released Data
Describes how the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) collects hospital quality measures and ways the process could be improved to better ensure the accuracy of the data. Discusses how rural and urban hospital accuracy scores compare.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 02/2006
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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The Institute of Medicine Rural Health Report: Next Steps in Legislation and Programs
Recommends federal policies that will improve patient safety and healthcare quality in rural America. Recommendations address innovative resource redirection and program coordination to increase the value of federal quality improvement programs and ultimately improve the health of rural people and communities.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller, Andrew F. Coburn, A. Clinton MacKinney, et al.
Date: 02/2006
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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The 2006 Report to the Secretary: Rural Health and Human Service Issues
Report to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on issues related to rural America. Examines three key topics: access to pharmaceuticals and pharmacy services, health information technology, and family caregiver support of the rural elderly.
Date: 01/2006
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Premium Assistance Programs for Low Income Families: How Well Does it Work in Rural Areas?
Examines the viability of premium assistance programs that subsidize employer-sponsored or private health insurance with Medicaid or State Children's Health Insurance program funding. Identifies and describes 16 state premium assistance programs that were operational in 2005.
Author(s): Pam Silberman, Laura Brogan, Charity Moore, Rebecca Slifkin
Date: 01/2006
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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State Rural Initiatives: Where the Money Comes From
Discusses how states are financing rural programs, projects and initiatives. Includes descriptions of over 40 programs, projects, or initiatives that are statewide in scope. Includes examples of funding focused on rural health.
Date: 01/2006
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Rural and Frontier Mental and Behavioral Health Care: Barriers, Effective Policy Strategies, Best Practices
Reports on the mental health and substance abuse needs of people living in rural and frontier areas. Discusses barriers, model programs, policy strategies, and telehealth. Also addresses the role that State Offices of Rural Health and other state and local organizations can play in rural behavioral health service delivery.
Author(s): Donald Sawyer, John Gale, David Lambert
Date: 2006
Sponsoring organization: National Association for Rural Mental Health
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Trends in Skilled Nursing and Swing-bed Use in Rural Areas, 1996-2003
Examines trends in the delivery of skilled nursing facility (SNF) services in rural areas during a period of dramatic change in Medicare payments. Focuses on the role of rural hospitals in providing SNF services, as a number of regulatory changes occurred between 1998 and 2002 that could potentially influence hospital provision of skilled nursing care.
Author(s): Kathleen Dalton, Jeongyoung Park, Ann Howard, Rebecca Slifkin
Date: 12/2005
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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