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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

Evaluation of the USDA Summer EBT Demonstrations: Lessons Learned From More Than a Decade of Research
Reports results of the Summer EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) demonstration project, 2015-2018 and 2019-2022. Describes Summer EBT use patterns, nutritional value, and effect on childhood food insecurity. Identifies strategies for better program planning, implementation, and administration. Discusses program operation and challenges in tribal organizations and rural communities.
Additional links: 2015-2018 Evaluation, 2019-2022 Evaluation, Summary
Author(s): René Nutter, Ayesha Enver, Maria Boyle, et al.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Food and Nutrition Service
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Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, March 2024
Reports on three aspects of Medicaid of interest to Congress: 1) improving the Medicaid beneficiary experience through Medical Care Advisory Committees (MCACs) and federal government actions to aid states, 2) increasing the transparency and improving the monitoring of the denials and appeals process in Medicaid managed care, and 3) reviewing hospital payment policy for the nation's safety-net hospitals. Chapter 3 examines the relationship between disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments to states and the number of uninsured individuals, the amounts and sources of hospitals' uncompensated care costs, and the amounts and sources of hospitals' uncompensated care costs. Table 3-1 details DSH spending for urban and rural hospitals and for Critical Access Hospitals.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Examining the Burden of Public Stigma Associated With Mental Illness in the Rural U.S.
Webinar recording from March 12, 2024, in which speakers discuss a study examining stigma associated with mental illness in rural and nonrural communities, using a nationally representative panel-based survey. Includes discussion of their study examining rural suicide mortality rates.
Additional links: Slide Deck, Transcript
Date: 03/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organizations: East Tennessee State University Center for Rural Health Research, NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, Rural Health Equity Research Center, Rural Health Research Gateway
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Skilled Nursing Facility Services: Chapter 6
Discusses payment adequacy for skilled nursing facility (SNF) services. Features statistics on SNF care provided by rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) via swing beds and Medicare margins for urban and rural freestanding SNFs in 2022.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Home Health Care Services: Chapter 7
Discusses payment adequacy for home health care services. Features statistics on Medicare margins for home health agencies between 2019-2022 with breakdowns by urban and rural areas and the number of home health periods provided to rural beneficiaries.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Hospice Services: Chapter 9
Discusses payment adequacy for hospice and palliative support services. Includes data on average costs by day and aggregate margins by urban and rural status, as well as demographics on Medicare decedents who used hospice during 2010 and between 2018-2022. Compares the actual hospice utilization rates in micropolitan, rural adjacent, rural nonadjacent, and frontier areas to urban hospice utilization rates.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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2023 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report: Chartbook on Patient Safety
Summarizes trends in healthcare quality across 28 measures of patient safety. Presents findings for four settings of care: ambulatory care, home health, hospitals, and nursing homes. Describes disparities in patient safety by race/ethnicity, sex, age, and insurance status. Highlights disparities for maternal morbidity and mortality measures by rurality.
Author(s): Barbara Barton, Darryl Gray, Cecilia Hahn, et al.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Urban–Rural Differences in School Districts' Local Wellness Policies and Policy Implementation Environments
Compares urban and rural local wellness policies (LWPs) and implementation environments of 117 Texas school districts. Provides data on LWP goals, including nutrition and physical activity goals, as well as availability of district wellness plans, LWP assessments, and school health advisory councils. Highlights implications for rural school policy and student health.
Author(s): Swati Iyer, Timothy J. Walker, Alexandra L. MacMillan Uribe, et al.
Citation: Nutrients, 16(6), 801
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
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Mortality for Time-Sensitive Conditions at Urban vs Rural Hospitals During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Analyzed hospitalizations in 3,813 rural and urban facilities to determine patient mortality outcomes for non-COVID-19 time sensitive conditions before and during the pandemic. Discusses rural and urban disparities.
Author(s): H. Joanna Jiang, Rachel M. Henke, Kathryn R. Fingar, Lan Liang, Denis Agniel
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(3)
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
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COVID-19 Affected Rural and Urban Hospital Uncompensated Care
Offers data comparing the impact of COVID-19 on uncompensated hospital care on rural and urban facilities using Medicare Cost Report data for acute care hospitals. Discusses uncompensated care trends over time and analyzes operating expenses.
Author(s): Emmaline Keesee
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
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