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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Type: Document

COVID-19's Current Impact on Rural Healthcare Delivery: Q&A with Brock Slabach
An interview with Brock Slabach, the National Rural Health Association's Senior Vice President for Member Services. Discusses the impact of COVID-19 on rural healthcare facilities, policy changes impacting rural providers, collaboration among rural communities to help share solutions, and the use of telehealth during the pandemic.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility PPS for FY 2021
Comments on an April 21, 2020, Federal Register proposed rule addressing updates to the prospective payment system for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for fiscal year 2021. Includes comments on the adoption of the Office of Management and Budget's geographic area delineations to determine wage index values.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Rural Connections: Challenges and Opportunities in America's Heartland
Examines rural transportation challenges, including decreased state transportation revenues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, higher traffic fatality rates compared to urban settings, poor road and bridge conditions, and more. Comments on the importance of rural transportation for the nation's economy, emphasizing its role in transferring goods and helping rural communities access healthcare, education, job opportunities, and social services.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Transportation Research Nonprofit (TRIP)
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High COVID-19 Attack Rate Among Attendees at Events at a Church — Arkansas, March 2020
Reports on the spread of COVID-19 in a rural Arkansas church in March 2020, as well as spread within the community that was linked to the church.
Author(s): Allison James, Lesli Eagle, Cassandra Phillips, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 69(20), 632-635
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Partnering for Impact: Early Insights from the Accountable Health Communities Model
Provides an overview of the November 11-12, 2019, CMS Accountable Health Communities (AHC) meeting. Summarizes sessions on engaging with Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries with unique needs, AHC models, addressing service gaps in quality improvement plans, and more. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Estimated Reduction in CAH Profitability from Loss of Cost-Based Reimbursement for Swing Beds
Examines the impact of proposed legislation recommending changes to swing bed reimbursements for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) from cost-based to the Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS). Estimates CAH profitability using reimbursement formulas from Medicare cost reports and discusses the characteristics of CAHs most affected by a change in swing bed reimbursement.
Author(s): Drake M. Broussard, Kristin L. Reiter
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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As It Grows, Medicare Advantage is Enrolling More Low-Income and Medically Complex Beneficiaries
Examines how the demographics, socioeconomic status, and clinical characteristics of Medicare Advantage enrollees changed between 2012 and 2015. Explores how these changes related to changes in healthcare utilization and performance during this time.
Author(s): Christie Teigland, Zulkarnain Pulungan, Tanya Shah, Eric Schneider, Shawn Bishop
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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COVID-19 Presents Significant Risks for American Indian and Alaska Native People
Discusses the disproportionate risks American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people face as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Provides race/ethnicity breakdowns for risk of serious illness after contracting COVID-19 and uninsured rates among nonelderly individuals. Includes the percent of COVID-19 deaths and cases, as well as the percent of the total population made up by AI/AN individuals for Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, and other states.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Geographic Distribution of Disability Among Older Veterans, United States, 2013–2017
Provides nationally representative data from 2013-2017 on county-level disability prevalence among military veterans older than 64. Individuals were considered disabled if they reported having hearing, vision, cognitive, ambulatory, independent living, or self-care disabilities.
Author(s): Justin McDaniel
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 17
Date: 05/2020
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Rural-Urban Residence and Mortality among Three Cohorts of U.S. Adults
Reports on a study to address gaps in what is known of the rural-urban mortality disparity by analyzing time-to-event birth cohorts using data from the 1997-2009 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) linking deaths through December 2011. Results of this study may identify potential policy and practice interventions to reduce the disparity in rural-urban mortality.
Author(s): Erika C. Ziller, Jennifer D. Lenardson, Katherine Ahrens M.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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