Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Statistics and data
The State of Rural Minnesota: 2026
Presents an overview of rural Minnesota. Includes interactive county-level data and statistics on population migration, economic vitality, employment, income, demographics, rural versus urban comparisons, and more.
Additional links: Summary Presentation
Author(s): Kelly Asche, Marnie Werner
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Policy and Development
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Presents an overview of rural Minnesota. Includes interactive county-level data and statistics on population migration, economic vitality, employment, income, demographics, rural versus urban comparisons, and more.
Additional links: Summary Presentation
Author(s): Kelly Asche, Marnie Werner
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Policy and Development
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Cancer in Iowa 2026
Provides data on cancer incidence, characteristics, and survival in Iowa. Provides county-level estimates of new cancers, cancer deaths, and those living with cancer as of 2026. Features a section on how cancer impacts Iowa's farming population and related issues of agricultural health, drinking water quality, and pesticide use.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Iowa Cancer Registry
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Provides data on cancer incidence, characteristics, and survival in Iowa. Provides county-level estimates of new cancers, cancer deaths, and those living with cancer as of 2026. Features a section on how cancer impacts Iowa's farming population and related issues of agricultural health, drinking water quality, and pesticide use.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Iowa Cancer Registry
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Rural America's Philanthropic Sector: Grantmaking and The Role of Philanthropy in Rural Communities
Discusses philanthropy in rural and urban communities including the geographic distribution of philanthropic organizations, types of organizations, and topic areas of giving. Includes maps and charts highlighting key study findings.
Additional links: The Geography of Rural America's Philanthropic Sector
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: USDA Rural Development
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Discusses philanthropy in rural and urban communities including the geographic distribution of philanthropic organizations, types of organizations, and topic areas of giving. Includes maps and charts highlighting key study findings.
Additional links: The Geography of Rural America's Philanthropic Sector
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: USDA Rural Development
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Increasing Uptake of Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) in Rural Kentucky Primary Care Clinics: Findings From a Pilot Pragmatic Cluster-Randomized Trial
Provides findings from a quality improvement pilot study focused on increasing diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) uptake via coaching and technical assistance in rural Kentucky primary care clinics.
Author(s): Mary E. Lacy, Jessica Elliott, Vance Drakeford, et al.
Citation: Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 17
Date: 03/2026
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Provides findings from a quality improvement pilot study focused on increasing diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) uptake via coaching and technical assistance in rural Kentucky primary care clinics.
Author(s): Mary E. Lacy, Jessica Elliott, Vance Drakeford, et al.
Citation: Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 17
Date: 03/2026
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2026
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses payment adequacy for Medicare fee-for-service payment systems, Medicare Advantage (MA), and Medicare Part D. Includes mandated reports on the impact of regulatory changes to the home health prospective payment system and dual-eligible special needs plans.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses payment adequacy for Medicare fee-for-service payment systems, Medicare Advantage (MA), and Medicare Part D. Includes mandated reports on the impact of regulatory changes to the home health prospective payment system and dual-eligible special needs plans.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Skilled Nursing Facility Services: Chapter 7
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, rural, and frontier freestanding SNFs in 2024.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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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, rural, and frontier freestanding SNFs in 2024.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Home Health Care Services: Chapter 8
Discusses payment adequacy for home health care services. Features statistics on Medicare margins for home health agencies between 2019-2024 with breakdowns by urban and rural areas, rates of successful discharge and potentially preventable readmissions in urban and rural areas, and the number of home health periods provided to rural beneficiaries.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Discusses payment adequacy for home health care services. Features statistics on Medicare margins for home health agencies between 2019-2024 with breakdowns by urban and rural areas, rates of successful discharge and potentially preventable readmissions in urban and rural areas, and the number of home health periods provided to rural beneficiaries.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Hospice Services: Chapter 10
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 2019-2024. Compares the actual hospice utilization rates in micropolitan, rural adjacent, rural nonadjacent, and frontier areas to urban hospice utilization rates.
Date: 03/2026
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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 2019-2024. Compares the actual hospice utilization rates in micropolitan, rural adjacent, rural nonadjacent, and frontier areas to urban hospice utilization rates.
Date: 03/2026
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Glioblastoma Survival in Rural America: A 10-Year Experience from a Quaternary Care Center
Examines factors influencing glioblastoma survival and overall prognosis among West Virginians, using medical record data of 380 adults treated at WVU Ruby Memorial Hospital between January 2015 and August 2025. Includes data on patient rurality, sex, treatment received, and more. Discusses the role of referrals in mitigating rural access barriers for cancer care and improving rural cancer outcomes.
Author(s): Emily Pack, Christopher P. Cifarelli, Sanjay Bhatia, et al.
Citation: Journal of Neuro-Oncology, 177(36)
Date: 03/2026
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Examines factors influencing glioblastoma survival and overall prognosis among West Virginians, using medical record data of 380 adults treated at WVU Ruby Memorial Hospital between January 2015 and August 2025. Includes data on patient rurality, sex, treatment received, and more. Discusses the role of referrals in mitigating rural access barriers for cancer care and improving rural cancer outcomes.
Author(s): Emily Pack, Christopher P. Cifarelli, Sanjay Bhatia, et al.
Citation: Journal of Neuro-Oncology, 177(36)
Date: 03/2026
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Comparing the Care and Distance Traveled by Rural and Urban Medicaid Beneficiaries With Opioid Use Disorder
Results of a study describing the treatment for rural and urban Medicaid beneficiaries with opioid use disorder in 2019. Features demographics and statistics on number of visits and travel time and distance, with breakdowns by 5 levels of population density.
Author(s): C. Holly A. Andrilla, Sara C. Woolcock, Lisa A. Garberson, Janessa M. Graves
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Results of a study describing the treatment for rural and urban Medicaid beneficiaries with opioid use disorder in 2019. Features demographics and statistics on number of visits and travel time and distance, with breakdowns by 5 levels of population density.
Author(s): C. Holly A. Andrilla, Sara C. Woolcock, Lisa A. Garberson, Janessa M. Graves
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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