Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Substance use and misuse
Medicare Payment Basics: Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Services Payment System
Overview of Medicare's payment system for inpatient psychiatric services provided in freestanding hospitals or specialized hospital-based units. Demonstrates how payments for these services are adjusted to reflect geographic differences in labor costs, and cost of care by facility and patient characteristics.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Overview of Medicare's payment system for inpatient psychiatric services provided in freestanding hospitals or specialized hospital-based units. Demonstrates how payments for these services are adjusted to reflect geographic differences in labor costs, and cost of care by facility and patient characteristics.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Wisconsin State Opioid Response 4 Year Two: Statewide Annual Report
Provides information on the State Opioid Response 4 (SOR-4) grant awarded in 2024 and focused on expanding access to treatment and recovery services for opioid and stimulant use disorder in Wisconsin, supporting training of peer support services, increasing the number of providers offering medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and raising awareness related to OUD. Utilizes data from clients who completed the State Opioid Response 4 (SOR-4) GPRA Client Outcome Measures tool from 2025 to 2026 and reports on treatment needs, recovery, telehealth, and recovery housing. Compares client experiences in rural versus urban counties.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
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Provides information on the State Opioid Response 4 (SOR-4) grant awarded in 2024 and focused on expanding access to treatment and recovery services for opioid and stimulant use disorder in Wisconsin, supporting training of peer support services, increasing the number of providers offering medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and raising awareness related to OUD. Utilizes data from clients who completed the State Opioid Response 4 (SOR-4) GPRA Client Outcome Measures tool from 2025 to 2026 and reports on treatment needs, recovery, telehealth, and recovery housing. Compares client experiences in rural versus urban counties.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
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Cannabis Assessment in Oncology Patients—Evaluation Survey: Understanding Usage Patterns in a Rural Radiation Cohort in Kentucky
Explores the use and perceptions of unprescribed medicinal cannabis among 237 adults receiving radiation therapy in Kentucky between July 2023 and February 2024. Includes comparisons by rural or urban dwelling and treatment location.
Author(s): Evans Amoah, Waleed F. Mourad, Marcus E. Randall, et al.
Citation: The Oncologist, 31(11), oyag370
Date: 09/2026
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Explores the use and perceptions of unprescribed medicinal cannabis among 237 adults receiving radiation therapy in Kentucky between July 2023 and February 2024. Includes comparisons by rural or urban dwelling and treatment location.
Author(s): Evans Amoah, Waleed F. Mourad, Marcus E. Randall, et al.
Citation: The Oncologist, 31(11), oyag370
Date: 09/2026
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September 2026 MACPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission's (MACPAC) September 2026 meeting. Covers community engagement requirements in Medicaid, state directed payments and healthcare-related taxes, a comparison of an updated inpatient hospital payment index across states, utilization management for medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in Medicaid, and Medicaid coverage of assistive technology for adults, among other things. Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Medicaid Coverage of Assistive Technology for Adults: Data Analysis and Stakeholder Interviews
Date: 09/2026
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) September 2026 meeting. Covers community engagement requirements in Medicaid, state directed payments and healthcare-related taxes, a comparison of an updated inpatient hospital payment index across states, utilization management for medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in Medicaid, and Medicaid coverage of assistive technology for adults, among other things. Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Medicaid Coverage of Assistive Technology for Adults: Data Analysis and Stakeholder Interviews
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025: Section-by-Section Summary
Provides a section-by-section description of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act (P.L. 119-44). Includes background information and a summary of each provision. Table 1 presents expired authorizations and appropriations in the SUPPORT Act of 2018, related annual appropriations, and whether the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act reauthorized each provision.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Provides a section-by-section description of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act (P.L. 119-44). Includes background information and a summary of each provision. Table 1 presents expired authorizations and appropriations in the SUPPORT Act of 2018, related annual appropriations, and whether the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act reauthorized each provision.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Methadone Versus Buprenorphine/Naloxone: Treatment Outcome Differences among Individuals Receiving Medications for Opioid Use Disorders in Rural Treatment Settings - A 1-Year Retrospective Cohort Study
Presents a study comparing the efficacy of methadone and buprenorphine treatments for opioid use disorders (OUD) in community-based rural treatment settings. Bases findings on data from patients who began treatment in 2019 at four rural clinics in Oregon. Breaks down data by participant age, OUD diagnosis, and employment status, among other measures.
Author(s): Anna MacCamy, Lisa Khairy, Tara Wasser, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 42(4), e70219
Date: 09/2026
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Presents a study comparing the efficacy of methadone and buprenorphine treatments for opioid use disorders (OUD) in community-based rural treatment settings. Bases findings on data from patients who began treatment in 2019 at four rural clinics in Oregon. Breaks down data by participant age, OUD diagnosis, and employment status, among other measures.
Author(s): Anna MacCamy, Lisa Khairy, Tara Wasser, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 42(4), e70219
Date: 09/2026
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Place-Based Risk: Examining Relationships Between Adolescent Perceptions of Community Risk Factors and Adolescent Substance Use Across Geographic Contexts
Examines adolescent perceptions of structural and social factors that influence their substance use in rural and urban communities. Utilizes 2019 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey data from 9,819 adolescents to analyze alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and illicit drug use according to sociodemographics, cultural norms, law enforcement response to substance use, availability of drugs, and urban, suburban, town, or rural location.
Author(s): Melissa Pearman Fenton, Sarah D. Lynne, Josie L. Bryan, Catherine Woodstock Striley, Larry F. Forthun
Citation: American Journal of Community Psychology, 78(1-2), 245-262
Date: 09/2026
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Examines adolescent perceptions of structural and social factors that influence their substance use in rural and urban communities. Utilizes 2019 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey data from 9,819 adolescents to analyze alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and illicit drug use according to sociodemographics, cultural norms, law enforcement response to substance use, availability of drugs, and urban, suburban, town, or rural location.
Author(s): Melissa Pearman Fenton, Sarah D. Lynne, Josie L. Bryan, Catherine Woodstock Striley, Larry F. Forthun
Citation: American Journal of Community Psychology, 78(1-2), 245-262
Date: 09/2026
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Expanding Peer Recovery Services in Rural Georgia: A Recovery Community Organization's Approach
Provides information on recovery community organizations (RCOs) and their role in providing support to people with substance use disorder (SUD). Discusses the implementation, programs, services, staffing, funding, and impact of an RCO in rural Georgia.
Author(s): Vanessa Finisse
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Provides information on recovery community organizations (RCOs) and their role in providing support to people with substance use disorder (SUD). Discusses the implementation, programs, services, staffing, funding, and impact of an RCO in rural Georgia.
Author(s): Vanessa Finisse
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Cancer Survival Differences Between Rural and Urban Populations During the Opioid Epidemic: A SEER Analysis
Explores how rural and urban cancer survival changed over time during the U.S. opioid epidemic, and how rural cancer survival disparities were associated with increasing drug mortality during the same period. Utilizes 2000-2016 SEER and CDC WONDER data.
Author(s): Martin G. Bouldo, Daniel J. Becker
Citation: Anticancer Research, 46(9), 4973-4984
Date: 09/2026
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Explores how rural and urban cancer survival changed over time during the U.S. opioid epidemic, and how rural cancer survival disparities were associated with increasing drug mortality during the same period. Utilizes 2000-2016 SEER and CDC WONDER data.
Author(s): Martin G. Bouldo, Daniel J. Becker
Citation: Anticancer Research, 46(9), 4973-4984
Date: 09/2026
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Unmasking the Rural Substance Use Burden: The Need to Move Beyond Macro-Level Data in Substance Use Policy and Planning
Brief examines health-related differences and service gaps of rural, non-rural, and national communities to better understand substance use trends in order to inform policies and interventions in rural communities. Bases findings on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and details rates of opioid, stimulant, vape, and alcohol use in rural and urban areas in 2023 and 2024.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Communities Opioid Response Program - Technical Assistance
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Brief examines health-related differences and service gaps of rural, non-rural, and national communities to better understand substance use trends in order to inform policies and interventions in rural communities. Bases findings on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and details rates of opioid, stimulant, vape, and alcohol use in rural and urban areas in 2023 and 2024.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Communities Opioid Response Program - Technical Assistance
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