Rural Health
Resources by Type: Document
Non-Health Care Costs Associated with Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Visitation
Summarizes household expenses associated with neonatal intensive care unit visitation including transportation, lost wages, lodging, childcare, and more. Includes metropolitan and non-metropolitan comparisons in Appendix Table 2.
Author(s): Rebecca A. Gourevitch, Evan Ellicott, Christina Kim, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 3(3)
Date: 03/2025
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Summarizes household expenses associated with neonatal intensive care unit visitation including transportation, lost wages, lodging, childcare, and more. Includes metropolitan and non-metropolitan comparisons in Appendix Table 2.
Author(s): Rebecca A. Gourevitch, Evan Ellicott, Christina Kim, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 3(3)
Date: 03/2025
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Navigating Natural Disasters: Key Strategies for Medicaid Agencies to Support Members
Provides information on the impact of natural disasters on people, communities, and the economy. Discusses how Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) can address health needs of their members by strengthening disaster preparedness, working with managed care organizations, and focusing on policy. Includes examples from rural areas.
Author(s): Armelle Casau, Rachel Yard
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Provides information on the impact of natural disasters on people, communities, and the economy. Discusses how Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) can address health needs of their members by strengthening disaster preparedness, working with managed care organizations, and focusing on policy. Includes examples from rural areas.
Author(s): Armelle Casau, Rachel Yard
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development 2024 Annual Report
Provides an overview of the activities of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, with a focus on tourism, outdoor recreation, food systems, economic development, capacity building, and more.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development
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Provides an overview of the activities of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, with a focus on tourism, outdoor recreation, food systems, economic development, capacity building, and more.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development
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340B Benefits Patients and Communities: Examples from the Frontlines
Provides an overview of the 340B Drug Pricing Program and its impact on hospitals. Offers program examples, information, and statistics, with rural community examples included.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Provides an overview of the 340B Drug Pricing Program and its impact on hospitals. Offers program examples, information, and statistics, with rural community examples included.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Vulnerability Index Approach to Identify Pharmacy Deserts and Keystone Pharmacies
Discusses the importance of improving pharmacy access in rural and low-income areas. Utilizes data from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) dataQ to examine travel time to nearest pharmacy according to urbanicity. Defines a pharmacy vulnerability index according to this measure and reports on residents in the the contiguous U.S. living in or at risk of living in a pharmacy desert, with comparisons for small rural, large rural, suburban, and urban.
Author(s): Walter S. Mathis, Lucas A. Berenbrok, Peter A. Kahn, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 8(3)
Date: 03/2025
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Discusses the importance of improving pharmacy access in rural and low-income areas. Utilizes data from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) dataQ to examine travel time to nearest pharmacy according to urbanicity. Defines a pharmacy vulnerability index according to this measure and reports on residents in the the contiguous U.S. living in or at risk of living in a pharmacy desert, with comparisons for small rural, large rural, suburban, and urban.
Author(s): Walter S. Mathis, Lucas A. Berenbrok, Peter A. Kahn, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 8(3)
Date: 03/2025
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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, rural, and frontier freestanding SNFs in 2023.
Date: 03/2025
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 2023.
Date: 03/2025
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 2019-2023 with breakdowns by urban and rural areas, a comparison of patient-experience quality measures by urban and rural status, and the number of home health periods provided to rural beneficiaries.
Date: 03/2025
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 2019-2023 with breakdowns by urban and rural areas, a comparison of patient-experience quality measures by urban and rural status, and the number of home health periods provided to rural beneficiaries.
Date: 03/2025
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 2019-2023. Compares the actual hospice utilization rates in micropolitan, rural adjacent, rural nonadjacent, and frontier areas to urban hospice utilization rates.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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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 2019-2023. Compares the actual hospice utilization rates in micropolitan, rural adjacent, rural nonadjacent, and frontier areas to urban hospice utilization rates.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Human Cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) — California, September–December 2024
Reports on increased risk for infection from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) among people who work closely with dairy cows, poultry, or other animals with suspected or confirmed infection. Includes data on investigations that led to identification of 38 people who tested positive for HPAI A(H5N1) viruses in California, including 37 dairy farm workers with exposure to sick cows, and one child with an undetermined exposure.
Author(s): Sophie Zhu, Kathleen Harriman, Caterina Liu, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 74(8), 127–133
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Reports on increased risk for infection from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) among people who work closely with dairy cows, poultry, or other animals with suspected or confirmed infection. Includes data on investigations that led to identification of 38 people who tested positive for HPAI A(H5N1) viruses in California, including 37 dairy farm workers with exposure to sick cows, and one child with an undetermined exposure.
Author(s): Sophie Zhu, Kathleen Harriman, Caterina Liu, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 74(8), 127–133
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2025
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.
Date: 03/2025
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.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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