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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

State Innovation Model Testing Awards from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Innovation Center: Highlighting Rural Focus
Summarizes the activities and accomplishments of rural-specific State Innovation Models (SIM) in 11 states: Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Oregon, and Vermont. Describes the SIM initiative, which began in 2012 to support states committed to designing and testing strategies for payment model and delivery system reform.
Date: 06/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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The Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion, Social Disadvantage, and the Practice Location Choices of New General Internists
Examines levels of social disadvantage in states that lost general internal medicine physicians (internists) and states that gained internists after Medicaid expansion. Analyzes 32,102 internists who established their first practice between 2009 and 2019 and their location of choice. Outlines characteristics of internist location choices by population demographics such as age, race and ethnicity, education levels, income levels, social disadvantage level, medical school availability, and rurality.
Author(s): José J. Escarce, Gregory D. Wozniak, Stavros Tsipas, et al.
Citation: Medical Care, 60(5), 342-350
Date: 05/2022
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Telehealth: Current Definitions and Future Trends
Information guide covering updated telehealth terminology, issues, and considerations as of May 2022. Offers definitions of key terms from various agencies and organizations and how those definitions apply to various stakeholders.
Author(s): Hari Eswaran, Leah Dawson, Michelle Hernandez, et al.
Date: 05/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Telehealth Evaluation Center
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Rx for the Rural Healthcare Workforce and Access to Care
Podcast with Tom Morris of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy about trends related to the rural healthcare workforce and efforts to overcome challenges. Discusses the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, rural hospital closures, telehealth, graduate medical education in rural areas, community health workers and community paramedics, funding opportunities to promote healthcare access in rural areas, the opioid crisis, and more.
Author(s): Jessica Nicholson
Date: 05/2022
Sponsoring organization: The Conference Board
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Convergence of Service Providers and Managers' Perspectives on Strengths, Gaps, and Priorities for Rural Health System Redesign: A Whole-Systems Qualitative Study in Washington County, Maine
Presents themes from interviews with 46 direct healthcare service providers between September - November 2020 in Washington County, Maine. Explores existing clinical service strengths, local and state gaps in services and the impact of those gaps on quality and safety, and priorities and strategies for sustaining or restoring essential healthcare services.
Author(s): Rebecca L. West, Judy Margo, Jeff Brown, Amy Dowley, Susan Haas
Citation: Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 13
Date: 05/2022
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Broadband: National Strategy Needed to Guide Federal Efforts to Reduce Digital Divide
Provides an overview of federal agencies and programs that support the deployment of broadband in the United States. Discusses the extent to which these programs are fragmented or overlap, as well as how agencies coordinate their efforts. Offers recommendations to improve the alignment of the various broadband programs, including the development of a national broadband strategy.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 05/2022
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility PPS for FY 2023
Comments on an April 6, 2022, Federal Register proposed rule addressing updates to the prospective payment system for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for fiscal year 2023. Includes comments on the IRF teaching and rural payment adjustments.
Date: 05/2022
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS for FY 2023
Comment on an April 4, 2022, Federal Register proposed rule revising the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Prospective Payment System (IPF PPS) for fiscal year 2023. Includes a discussion of rural and Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) IPF PPS payment adjustments.
Date: 05/2022
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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State Medicaid Managed Care and Access to Rural Behavioral Health Services
Details how states with Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) are using MCO contract language to increase access to behavioral healthcare through service access requirements, provider network requirements, and telehealth utilization policies. Includes links to available MCO contracts and requests for applications.
Author(s): Eliza Mette, Jodi Manz
Date: 05/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
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Advancing Rural Maternal Health Equity
Summarizes the activities implemented by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of Minority Health between June 2019 and November 2021 as part of its Rural Maternal Health Initiative. Outlines next steps to address rural maternal health disparities. Includes potential solutions for rural providers and stakeholders from the Rural Obstetric Readiness Workgroup.
Date: 05/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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