Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy
National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services Meeting Summary, Bend, Oregon, April 26-28, 2023
Summarizes the 92nd meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS), which was held in Bend, Oregon. Presents an overview of national, tribal, and state perspectives on the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Summarizes the 92nd meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS), which was held in Bend, Oregon. Presents an overview of national, tribal, and state perspectives on the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Midwives: Information on Births, Workforce, and Midwifery Education
Presents data on midwife-attended births, the midwifery workforce, and challenges to obtaining midwifery care. Discusses midwifery education programs, the number of students in these programs, midwifery educational challenges, and available federal financial support through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Indian Health Service (IHS). Describes challenges to measuring the quality of maternal healthcare, including midwifery care.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Presents data on midwife-attended births, the midwifery workforce, and challenges to obtaining midwifery care. Discusses midwifery education programs, the number of students in these programs, midwifery educational challenges, and available federal financial support through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Indian Health Service (IHS). Describes challenges to measuring the quality of maternal healthcare, including midwifery care.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Small and Disadvantaged Community Water Funding Roadmap
Provides information and background about water systems in the United States for rural and disadvantaged areas, such as solutions in water innovation, best practices for utilizing funding, and outlining policies needed to build water infrastructure. Includes contact information for regions and organizations working to build capacity in water infrastructure.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organizations: The Water Center, University of Pennsylvania, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Veolia
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Provides information and background about water systems in the United States for rural and disadvantaged areas, such as solutions in water innovation, best practices for utilizing funding, and outlining policies needed to build water infrastructure. Includes contact information for regions and organizations working to build capacity in water infrastructure.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organizations: The Water Center, University of Pennsylvania, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Veolia
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Assessing the Accuracy of California County Level COVID-19 Hospitalization Forecasts to Inform Public Policy Decision Making
Evaluates model performance and accuracy regarding the forecasting of infectious diseases by retroactively examining COVID-19 forecasting in California counties. Utilizes archived forecasts from the California Department of Public Health's California COVID Assessment Tool to analyze the accuracy of forecasts referenced with actual COVID-19 hospitalization. Discusses issues related to model accuracy, such as local transmission trends, variant prevalence, and county population size, and how accurate forecasting is important for public health planning and policy.
Author(s): Lauren A. White, Ryan McCorvie, David Crow, Seema Jain, Tomás M. León
Citation: BMC Public Health 23, 782
Date: 04/2023
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Evaluates model performance and accuracy regarding the forecasting of infectious diseases by retroactively examining COVID-19 forecasting in California counties. Utilizes archived forecasts from the California Department of Public Health's California COVID Assessment Tool to analyze the accuracy of forecasts referenced with actual COVID-19 hospitalization. Discusses issues related to model accuracy, such as local transmission trends, variant prevalence, and county population size, and how accurate forecasting is important for public health planning and policy.
Author(s): Lauren A. White, Ryan McCorvie, David Crow, Seema Jain, Tomás M. León
Citation: BMC Public Health 23, 782
Date: 04/2023
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Closed, Converted, Merged, and New Hospitals with Medicare Rural Designations: January 2018-November 2022
Provides an overview of four Medicare rural hospital designations - Critical Access Hospital, Low-Volume Hospital, Medicare Dependent Hospital, and Sole Community Hospital - and factors related to financial distress that these designations are intended to address. Explores the number of rural-designated hospitals that have closed, merged, converted, or opened between January 2018-November 2022 and compares the number of rural-designated hospitals with the number of non-designated hospitals. Outlines considerations for Congress regarding policy options for rural hospitals and access to healthcare services in rural areas.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Provides an overview of four Medicare rural hospital designations - Critical Access Hospital, Low-Volume Hospital, Medicare Dependent Hospital, and Sole Community Hospital - and factors related to financial distress that these designations are intended to address. Explores the number of rural-designated hospitals that have closed, merged, converted, or opened between January 2018-November 2022 and compares the number of rural-designated hospitals with the number of non-designated hospitals. Outlines considerations for Congress regarding policy options for rural hospitals and access to healthcare services in rural areas.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Broadband Speed: FCC Should Improve Its Communication of Advanced Telecommunications Capability Assessments
Examines the extent to which Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has communicated how it reviews, and determines whether to update, the broadband upload and download speed benchmark. Describes how the minimum speed requirements of selected federal and state broadband programs differ from FCC's benchmark and stakeholders' views on the implications of these differences.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Examines the extent to which Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has communicated how it reviews, and determines whether to update, the broadband upload and download speed benchmark. Describes how the minimum speed requirements of selected federal and state broadband programs differ from FCC's benchmark and stakeholders' views on the implications of these differences.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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April 2023 MACPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission's (MACPAC) April 2023 meeting. Covers automatic adjustments to Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) allotments, DSH third-party payer policy, integrating care for dually eligible beneficiaries, access to Medicaid coverage and care for adults leaving incarceration, adult access to covered dental benefits, access to home- and community-based services, and an update on the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) unwinding. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Transcript from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission's (MACPAC) April 2023 meeting. Covers automatic adjustments to Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) allotments, DSH third-party payer policy, integrating care for dually eligible beneficiaries, access to Medicaid coverage and care for adults leaving incarceration, adult access to covered dental benefits, access to home- and community-based services, and an update on the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) unwinding. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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April 2023 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) April 2023 meeting. Covers high prices of drugs covered under Medicare Part B, draft recommendations for reforming Medicare's wage index systems, aligning fee-for-service payment rates across ambulatory settings, leveraging Medicare policies to address social determinants of health, assessing post-sale rebates for prescription drugs in Medicare Part D, and assessing the need for Medicare safety net payments for skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies. Features discussions on draft reports regarding a prototype design for a post-acute care prospective payment system, telehealth in Medicare, and behavioral health in Medicare. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) April 2023 meeting. Covers high prices of drugs covered under Medicare Part B, draft recommendations for reforming Medicare's wage index systems, aligning fee-for-service payment rates across ambulatory settings, leveraging Medicare policies to address social determinants of health, assessing post-sale rebates for prescription drugs in Medicare Part D, and assessing the need for Medicare safety net payments for skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies. Features discussions on draft reports regarding a prototype design for a post-acute care prospective payment system, telehealth in Medicare, and behavioral health in Medicare. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Rural Definitions Used for Eligibility Requirements in USDA Rural Development Programs
Provides an overview of the definitions of rural that are used to determine eligibility for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) programs. Identifies issues that Congress may want to consider related to these definitions and community eligibility.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Provides an overview of the definitions of rural that are used to determine eligibility for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) programs. Identifies issues that Congress may want to consider related to these definitions and community eligibility.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Electronic Health Information Exchange: Use Has Increased, but Is Lower for Small and Rural Providers
Explores states' use of Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act funding for health information exchange efforts. Examines the extent to which the use of electronic health information exchange has changed since the enactment of the HITECH Act and federal efforts that aim to address challenges to the electronic exchange of health information. Discusses differences in the electronic exchange of information between small and rural hospitals and larger, non-rural hospitals.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Explores states' use of Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act funding for health information exchange efforts. Examines the extent to which the use of electronic health information exchange has changed since the enactment of the HITECH Act and federal efforts that aim to address challenges to the electronic exchange of health information. Discusses differences in the electronic exchange of information between small and rural hospitals and larger, non-rural hospitals.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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